Breaking Point
by PCGirl
Summary: Complete! Everyone has a breaking point--what's yours? Continues the story of all of Port Charles after the end of 'The Gift'
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Last time I checked I didn't own anything in this story- ABC/Disney did. 

A/N: Hey everyone. Well, this is my latest victim. From the clues that have been given to us, and where we could see the story going I've started to write what I think would have been the next arc. Now, I could be completely wrong, but I don't think I am. So hang on-the story might not be pretty, and you may want to mail bomb me afterwards-but in the end I'll try my hardest to pull everyone on track. Oh yeah, and give me reviews (even if they are telling me that you want to mail bomb me-I can take it.)

"Breaking Point"  
"Everyone has a breaking point-what's yours?"

He pushed the door open with his foot as he walked in with her in his arms, "I love you, Alison," he said through kisses.

"I love you too." She looked at him, her husband. They had finally done it, and nothing had stopped them this time. He laid her down on the bed and just stared at her. She was so beautiful, and she was his-all his. He started to kiss her shoulders when he heard her ask, "Do you want me to change into something else?"

"No," he whispered softly against her skin. He didn't want to let go for a minute, not even a second. When she started to say something again he looked up at her and placed a finger on her mouth, "shhhh," then began kissing her again. He realized he had to get her out of this dress carefully though, so he sat her up, and found the zipper on the back of the dress. He slowly pulled the fabric off her shoulders, kissing them as he did it. He wanted this night to never end, and by going slowly and taking in everything around them-it never would.

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"No, Caleb. Alison can't be pregnant with your child," said Livvie through tears. She wanted to get out of his grasp, but he was holding her so tight it was impossible.

"Sweet Olivia. You should have never tried what you did, and never ever made that wish. You only have yourself to blame," he said as he held out his arm in front of her, and with a flick of his wrist a picture appeared on the wall. She watched in horror as she saw Alison and Caleb. Her first thought was that it was in the barn-she knew that Alison must have been heartbroken the next day. Her sympathy for Alison soared in an instant as she realized by the look on Alison's face that she had no control over herself.

"Why? Why did you let it happen?" she insisted on knowing, and at that point he realized he had to do something with her for the night. He placed his hand over her eyes and whispered in her ear, "No more worries, my sweet Olivia. No more worries for tonight," and with that she went limp in his arms.

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"Imani?" said Jamal as he stared at the wolf in front of him now. With everything that he had been through in Port Charles, he shouldn't be surprised, but he was. The wolf snarled at him again, "Imani, it's me. Don't do anything foolish," he said backing up as the wolf continued to get near him. The next thing Jamal knew was he was running, and hearing the sound of a wolf behind him. When he looked behind him she was gone, and he was standing in the middle of a clearing, completely lost.

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She slowly opened her eyes and took in a deep breath. It was the morning after her wedding and she felt like she was in heaven. Last night there seemed to be a difference in making love to Rafe. The difference was they were now husband and wife. She moved her head to face him and saw his eyes were already open, "Good morning, husband," she said as he pushed back the hair from her face.

He moved in and gave her a kiss. "Good morning, wife," he said smiling at the way it sounded on his lips.

"How long have you been awake?" she said as she scooted towards him until her body partially laid on top of his.

"Not long," he said as placed his arms around her, enjoying the feeling of having her near him. "I was hoping you would wake up soon."

"Why? So we can begin another round of the honeymoon phase of our marriage?" she said as a smile appeared on her face as she thought back to the night before.

"Well, yeah that too," he laughed. "But there's something over there on that table," he said as he strained to look at the envelope that had been propped up on the desk. He had been too preoccupied last night to notice it, but it unnerved him that someone may have entered the room after they went to bed and placed it there.

"So, in other words you were waiting for me to wake up so I could get it for you?" she said as she began to slip out of grasp.

"No, I just wanted to inform you," he said with a grin on his face as she got out of the bed, taking the sheet that was wrapped around her body with her.

She walked over and picked up the ivory envelope. On the front, in beautiful calligraphy, it said 'Mr. & Mrs. Rafe Kovich'. She went back over to the bed and opened the envelope. After reading it twice she looked at him, "Do you know what this is?" she said gleefully.

"Obviously something good," he said as he took it out of her hands and read it aloud,

_Rafe and Alison,_

_I'm so happy you two have finally found each other, and battled all the obstacles that were placed in your way. At the Port Charles Airport are two tickets to Sydney, Australia for a week long honeymoon. All accommodations have already been made._

_Always watching over you, Dad_

_PS. The plane leaves at 10 am. Don't be late._

She looked over at the clock, and saw it was just after 7 am. She jumped up and started packing while he just sat on the bed with a smile as he said a silent thank you.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Last time I checked I didn't own anything in this story- ABC/Disney did. 

A/N: Hey, glad some people like it. Here's the next chapter-hope you still like this. But first, I want to share something with you-I'm not the only one writing the next arc. There are two other arcs going on over at the Just Heavenly Boards. So after reading 'Breaking Point', head over there () and read 'ReVeNgE' and 'Blood and Roses'!

* * *

"So much for having the morning off," he said going through papers at the nurse's desk. They had left the bed and breakfast where the wedding was late, and got home even later. All he had wanted to do was sleep in past 9 am, but of course-that wasn't the case at all.

"Just the vamp I want to see," he heard from behind him.

"Hey Ramsey. Did you and Elizabeth kiss and make up?" he joked, going back to his work.

"We're not going to discuss my personal life. But I do think we have something else you would greatly enjoy discussing," he said.

Ian looked up and him and saw that evil look in his eye, "Alright, spill it," he said as he leaned onto the chart he was writing in and towards Chris.

"I think I've got your cure figured out."

"You've said that already. I'll see it when I believe it," he said not wanting to get his hopes up, and going back to writing in the chart

"Well, here it is," said Chris. He looked around to see if anyone was looking before pulling the vial out of his coat pocket and handing it to Ian. "You want to take a ten minute break, and go try it out?" he said with a wink.

"Colleen, I'll be back in ten," he yelled as she came walking around to the nurse's station and saw him walking away with Chris.

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"Whew. I can't believe we made it," said Alison as she got into the seat next to the window and looked up at Rafe. They somehow had got everything together and made it to the airport right before boarding was finished.

He sat down next to her, and pulled her in for a kiss, "I'm sure they wouldn't have let this plane takeoff without making sure we were on it."

"We really should call Lucy and my mom and let them know what's going on," she said looking out the window. "So what are we going to do for the whole plane ride to keep us occupied?" she said to herself.

"I'll call when the plane gets off the ground," he said as he scooted closer to her. "As to keeping ourselves occupied," he said starting to kiss the nape of her neck, "we could always join the mile high club," he said as he tried to keep a straight face.

"Rafe!" she said with a shocked look on her face.

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"Where are they?" demanded Caleb as he walked up to Annette.

"They left, earlier," she said-trying to hold her ground against him.

"Do you know where they went then?" he said as his anger grew.

"They didn't say much, just that they had new plans for a honeymoon. They thanked me for the room, and the offer to stay here for their honeymoon."

"Your only job was to keep them in that room until I had a chance to tell Rafe about that night. Can't you do anything right?" he said as he kicked the wall, and went back to Livvie.

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"How confident are you, Ramsey?" asked Ian as he sat in the chair while Chris made up the injection.

"How does 95 percent sound?"

"One hundred would sound better," he said as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. To be human again, what a wonderful thought. He looked back over and saw Chris coming with the needle. "Well, here's to everything," he said closing his eyes again and imagining the look on Lucy's face when he finally could say he was human again.

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As the sun streamed in through the window Livvie slowly opened her eyes. Last night she had married Caleb, and today was supposed to be the beginning of a new type of happiness for the both of them. Instead though, it was the beginning of uncertainty. Caleb had slept with Alison the night she made that wish. Did he know what he was doing and still sleep with her on purpose? Or was he under the control of the ring when he did it? Her mind flashed back to him showing them sleeping together. She could tell Alison was under the control of the ring, but what about Caleb. Just then she looked over and saw him walking in the room, "Where have you been?" she asked, trying to be as sweet as possible.

"I just went for a short walk," he said as he came over and sat down on the bed next to her. His hand brushed her hair out of her face, as she tried not to flinch from his touch. "You slept well last night, I take it?" he asked.

"Yes, I did, my love. So what are we going to do today?" she said sitting up.

"I was thinking we could head back to Port Charles. I've got some stuff I need to do," he said giving her a kiss. It was bothering him that he had no way to get in contact with Alison and Rafe. He had hoped to be the first to congratulate them on their baby, but figured they'd probably know they were expecting by the time they returned home.

"What all do you have to do?"

"It's personal, don't worry about it," he said getting up off the bed and going out to the patio to think of a new plan.

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"You are not going to believe who was on the phone just now," said Lucy as Ian walked into the house from work.

"Who?" he said walking up and giving her a kiss.

"It was Rafe and Alison. They are on a plane right now to Australia for a week long honeymoon."

"Well, good for them. How did they get the money for that type of trip?"

"I guess it was a gift from Amanda Barrington," she stopped being all happy for Rafe and Alison and looked at Ian. Something was different now with him. "Do you need to feed?" she asked, tilting her head to the side, feeling sad for all he had to go through.

"I don't want to talk about it," he said as he began to walk away from her.

"Please, Ian. Tell me," she said grabbing his hand.

"Chris gave me another serum to take," he said rubbing his eyes.

"It didn't work, did it?"

"It did, for about four hours, and then my symptoms came back. Every time I think I'm getting closer to being normal the symptoms come back."

"It's going to be alright," she said as she placed her hand on the side of his face to relax him.

"But what if it's not? What if I finally just snap?"

"I'll be here then, as I always will be," she said giving him a kiss and then her smile.

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	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I wish I may, I wish I might-I wish I owned PC tonight. Darn, didn't work-ABC/Disney still owns them. ;)  
  
A/N: Glad everyone is still enjoying them. I'm trying and trying to keep everyone in this story, but it's getting really hard to do. Have faith though and enjoy.  
  
Rafe looked up from the book he had bought during the layover in Los Angeles at his sweet wife sleeping next to him. This had to be the longest flight ever known to man, but he didn't care. First of all, he was with his wife. Secondly, Caleb couldn't touch them. He leaned over her and looked out the window, "You hear me Caleb? You can't touch us right now, and there is no way you're going to ruin our honeymoon." He gave Alison a kiss on the forehead, and went back to reading his book-though his eyelids were getting heavy.  
  
"Sir, would you like a pillow and blanket?" asked the stewardess as she walked down the aisle with one in her hand already.  
  
"Yes, please," he said as he laid the blanket over him and Alison, and putting the pillow behind his head. Then, curling up next to her he fell asleep.  
  
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Ricky was staring out at the stars, and trying to figure out if Casey was up there watching him right then. "I miss you, Case," he said as he kept his eye on one star that seemed to be shinning brighter than any of the others. "I hope you can come back to me soon. Everyone else is so happy here. Last night, at Rafe and Alison's wedding, I seemed so out of place, but I still enjoyed it. Did you watch them dance their first dance together? I wish I could dance with you right now," he said stopping himself. He had never sounded so corny in his life, and didn't know what had come over him.  
  
"Then why don't we?" he heard from behind him. He turned around and saw her standing in front of him, her hands stuck in her back pockets as she gave a half smile. He picked her up off the ground and held on tight, not sure what might happen next.  
  
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"Why the long face?" asked Jack as he cleaned down the bar when she walked in wearing a deep purple dress. Her hair was pulled back, and she was trying to put on a happy front, but he could tell she was upset. He took special notice that now on her hand was a gold band.  
  
"Being married is supposed to be a good thing, right?" she said, taking a seat as he went back around the bar. She propped her fist under her chin as he poured her a glass of wine.  
  
"Well, it was for me and Tess for awhile. What's the matter?"  
  
"Oh, if I told you then you'd think I was crazy. Let's just say that marriage isn't all it's cracked up to be," she looked around and didn't see Jamal or Imani. "Where is your best friend these days? Haven't seen him in weeks."  
  
"He's having fun in Alabama still with Imani. Hope to hear from him soon, I need to give him the good news about Rafe and Alison's wedding."  
  
"So they finally did it, huh?" she said taking a sip as a slight smile appeared on her face.  
  
"Yeah, it was at this lovely bed and breakfast. They got the room from some new guy at the gym. Of course, the gym is closed for a week now thanks to them leaving for the honeymoon," he said, noticing he was babbling, and guessing she wasn't interested.  
  
"You know where they went to?"  
  
"Australia," he said as another patron came up, and he went to help them.  
  
She sat there realizing why Caleb was in such a horrid mood this morning. He had probably planned on spilling the beans this morning. She ran her finger along the rim of the glass, trying to decide to tell Caleb where they were or not. She lifted the glass, "To Rafe and Alison, may you continue to overcome everything that comes to you," she said taking the last sip and heading out the door. 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Checking my records I see that ABC/Disney still has all rights to the characters.  
  
A/N: Enjoy!  
  
"We're here," said Alison as she jumped up and down as they walked through the airport. They were heading over to get their luggage when she saw someone holding up a sign with their names on it, "Look Rafe, that woman chauffer over there is for us," she said, getting excited again.  
  
"Alright, you go over to the luggage turnstile, I'll be right there," he said as he gave her a kiss, and continued to walk towards the chauffer. Her hair was pulled back into a bun, and she had sunglasses on, but she looked familiar. As he got closer, a sweet smile appeared on her face, and he recognized her. He walked up and whispered in her ear, "Paige?" She didn't say anything, just pulled down her glasses and looked him in the eye and gave a wink. "Well, why don't we go meet up with Alison?" he said leading the way.  
  
"How was the plane trip?" she said, finally speaking.  
  
"Oh, it was lovely. So what caused him to send you down to be our chauffer?"  
  
"He was in a good mood. Good enough even to let Casey come back permanently."  
  
"Are you serious?" he said with surprise in his voice. "Well, this here is my wife, Alison Barrington Kovich," he said as they approached her.  
  
"Hi, I'll be your chauffer to the hotel today. My name is Paige," she said holding out her hand to shake it.  
  
"Nice to meet you. I got three of my bags so far, can you grab yours and my other one?" she asked Rafe.  
  
"I can't believe you had this much stuff for what was supposed to be a weekend wedding trip," he said as he continued to grab a bag.  
  
"Well, it's a good thing I did pack. If we hadn't, we would have missed the trip your dad planned for us," she said as her and Paige turned and walked towards the car.  
  
He grabbed the last bag, and went to follow them, "I doubt that."  
  
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Jamal sat at the entrance to the diner, "I'm not going to chase her anymore. When she's finished being a canine, she'll come back and then we'll talk." As he finished he heard a noise coming from the side of the diner, "Didn't take you as long as I had imagined," he said, thinking it was her. A wolf appeared though-its fur almost black, and it's eyes seeming more dangerous than Imani was as a wolf. He jumped up, and went inside, closing the door behind him so that the new wolf wouldn't come in and have him for dinner.  
  
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Reese looked again at the piece of paper in front of her, "103 Gresham Street-Apartment 5C. Well, this is it," she said walking in, and was shocked by the inside of this place. While on the outside the building didn't look upscale, the inside was a different story. An old neighbor had given her the address, and she was ready to see her mother again. Standing in front of the door she tried to talk herself out one more time, but in the end she gave a strong knock. She could hear footsteps, and decided not to run right as the door opened.  
  
"Reese," said her mother as she stood at the door, surprised to see her daughter standing there.  
  
"Aren't you going to let me in, mum?" she said barging her way in the little flat. Even though she had expected it from seeing what the lobby looked like, she was still surprised by the way the flat was decorated. She remembered growing up all those years in close to poverty level, but now here was her mother with what seemed like a three bedroom flat overlooking the Thames. "Would you like to explain to me how you can afford this?" she said turning around and facing her mother again. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Don't own anything, don't think I do.  
  
A/N: Whew.this is going to be a LOOONG story. But hope you keep on enjoying. My fellow-Rali fans, look for an all-Rali chapter coming up. ;)  
  
Livvie had been halfway home when she made a detour. She wasn't ready to face what had lately been a constant bad mood from her husband. She was now at the lighthouse, and figured she'd pay her dad a visit. Ringing the doorbell she heard her father say, "just a minute," and then heard footsteps. He must have hired a full time nurse, but when the door opened there was her father, standing in front of her, "Oh daddy," she said giving him a gentle hug while trying to not make him lose his balance.  
  
"Hey sweetie," he said as a smile appeared on his face. "Look at me, I'm walking," he said pulling away and looking at her face. Something was bothering her, and he knew she needed him right now as much as he needed her. "Well, come in and sit down," he said as he slowly walked over to the couch where she was.  
  
"How well are you walking now?" she said taking his hand.  
  
"Oh, you know-a little more each day. But I'm doing so much better than anyone had ever thought I would. So, tell me how you are?" he said as he felt the gold band on her finger without looking down. "You got married," he said with a smile.  
  
"Yes, I did. I thought it would be wonderful, and it would fix everything-- ," she stopped what she was going to say. She had come here to talk to her dad, not to lay her burdens on him.  
  
"But it didn't, did it?" he said as she shook her head no. "Tell me what's wrong."  
  
"Alright, but can we somehow say this is doctor-patient confidentiality?"  
  
"Even better, it's father-daughter confidentiality," he said, ready to try and take away all her pain.  
  
"After we got married Caleb told me this horrible secret he had been hiding from me," she said as she stood up, not wanting to sit. Her eyes filled with tears as she looked back at her father, "There was this wish made, on his ring, and somehow it went wrong-him and Alison slept together."  
  
"You aren't planning on seeking revenge on Alison, are you?"  
  
"No, no.that's just it, I'm not upset with Alison at all. You would think I would be furious with her, as I've always said she was a man-stealer. Caleb showed me this video of them making love, and I could completely see that Alison had no control over what she was doing. But I don't know if Caleb had control."  
  
"Well, first let me say congratulations on finally being able to get over the whole grudge you have with Alison. Now, maybe somehow you two can become friends again."  
  
"I'd like that, I'd like that a lot," she said sitting back down next to him. "I can't ask Caleb if he had control, and I don't know when he's telling the truth anymore."  
  
"Let time take control of the situation. Maybe you will somehow be able to figure everything out if you just give it time," he said taking a deep breath. He was starting to get tired, but didn't want to kick Livvie out of the house.  
  
"Alright, I'll do that," she said giving a smile. "I can tell you are tired though dad, so I'll let you go," she said giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for listening."  
  
"You're welcome," he said as she walked towards the door, "Hey, Livvie, I only want you to be happy. Whatever it takes in life, just be happy."  
  
"Thanks," she said for the final words of wisdom from her dad and decided to head on back to Caleb now.  
  
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"Alright, I think I got everything," he said as he walked in with his arms filled with bags. As soon as Paige had stopped the car Alison had gone to check into the hotel, but never returned to help with bags. So with a little help from Paige, they got everything together and in the elevator-of course then the bellhop showed up and offered his services.  
  
He looked up and saw her standing on the balcony, her hair was down, and the wind from outside was blowing it. She turned around and looked at him, and a smile appeared on his face. This was a moment he wanted to always remember, and he was sure that there would be a million more during this trip.  
  
"I was going to come down and help," she said taking a bag from his arms.  
  
"Sure you were," he snickered as the bags all fell to the floor in one heap.  
  
"Rafe! Be careful, you might break something. Anyways, I want you to come out here and see this," she said taking his hand and going outside on the balcony. There's an entertainment area down there near the harbor, they have a Ferris wheel, and everything. Can we go there tonight?"  
  
"We come to a beautiful city, almost a day away from our home, and you want to go on a carnival ride?" he said with a laugh. He went inside and started looking through the visitor brochure they had given him downstairs, "Here it is," he said as he began to read it out loud, "It's called Luna Park, and was originally built in 1935 and located at Milson's Point. Luna Park closed in 1997, and recently began going under renovations which should be finished in early 2004," he finished looking up and seeing she was giving him a sad face. "What do you want me to do-go and make them open it up for just us?" he said as she sat next to him on the bed.  
  
"Well--," she said as a smile appeared on her face.  
  
"I don't think it works that way, Mrs. Kovich. But when we get back to Port Charles, we'll go to the local fair, and I will ride whatever you want me to ride," he said giving her a kiss as they laid back onto the bed.  
  
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He looked out the window to see the wolf had left, "Whew," he said sitting down in a booth and putting his head on the table. "Don't know why I was so worried, I probably could of taken him."  
  
"You're that sure of yourself?" he heard, making him jump. Turning around he saw Medea.  
  
"No, I'm not that sure of myself, but hey I'm a vampire."  
  
"That doesn't mean anything. Boy you should have left well enough alone and this wouldn't have happened at all."  
  
"Well, while we're putting blame on others, then we can say that Imani shouldn't have fallen through my ceiling and onto my bed now-should she?"  
  
"You think you know everything now, don't you? Well, you don't know yet, but you are going to learn," she said sitting down in front of him, and ready to give him a lecture he'd never forget. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Even though ABC/Disney wishes to sweep any and all PC related things under the rug and act like it never existed-they still own PC.and that's just plain sad.  
  
A/N: Glad everyone likes it so far. I'm taking a peek at the next chapter, and what do I see? All Rali! So ya'll just force yourself to read this, and I promise you the next chapter will be worth it. Until then my fellow Aw-ians (and non Aw-ians also), Enjoy!  
  
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"Are you going to answer me or are you going to stand there?" she said, getting angrier and more suspicious of her mother with every second she stood there silent.  
  
"Reese, you've grown into such a beautiful woman," she said, as she reached out to touch her daughter's face.  
  
Reese snatched her mother's hand away from her before she had a chance though. She looked over onto the entry way table and saw a picture of her mother and a male. They looked happy, almost as if for once in her mother's life she was in love, "Is this him?" she asked as she picked it up and studied it. He had blue eyes which reminded her of someone, but she didn't know. She looked back at her mom, who still wouldn't say a word to her. "Who is he?"  
  
"His name is Malcolm," she said as she took the picture out of her hands and led the way to the living room.  
  
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He stood there behind her on the deck of the boat. At the last minute they had decided to go on a two and a half hour dinner cruise at sunset. She had at first complained that she didn't have anything to wear, but had found an off-white dress, and pink sweater to go over it, and he couldn't keep his eyes off her.  
  
"Isn't it beautiful?" she said, watching the sunset.  
  
"It's gorgeous," he said, still looking at her, and not realizing what she was talking about. He moved closer to her, placing his hands on each side of her and pining herself between him and the railing. "The sunset isn't bad either," he sighed, kissing her temple. "I want to make a promise right now, Alison."  
  
"About what?" she said, leaning back into him.  
  
"Whenever we have a fight, or are mad each other-let's think back to this moment. The sunset symbolizes the past, and as it leaves us tonight our past flaws also leave us." When he said flaws she shivered, her mind for a second going to what she still hadn't told him. "Are you cold dear?" he said taking his arms and holding her closer to him.  
  
"No, just a shiver-that's all," she said, gulping down the lie. "So as long as our minds can remember this moment and how happy we are then whatever the future brings doesn't matter?"  
  
"Mmm hmmm," he said as she turned around to kiss him.  
  
"Excuse me, I'm with the tour-would you like me to take a picture of you for a small fee?" asked an older man who held a camera in his hand.  
  
"Please do," said Alison. "This is our honeymoon, and we were commenting on how we'll always remember this sunset."  
  
"You two look so happy. My wife and I have been married for forty-three years. I hope you two have that many more years of happiness and then some," he said as he took the picture and gave them a slip to pick up the picture tomorrow.  
  
"Thank you," said Rafe, as they went back to watching the sun set below the water, as it went to grace Port Charles with another day.  
  
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Caleb stood at the overlook trying to decide what to do. He wished there was a way to find out where they were, but he figured that telling them after the honeymoon would be even better. He looked up at the sky, "I heard you last night Rafe. I may not be able to touch you right now, but just you wait. You think your love can withstand anything? Well, can it withstand cheating by not just one party, but by both parties?" he said as a sly grin appeared on his face.  
  
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"So that's all you're going to tell me about him?" said Reese as she sat down, taking note of everything around her. All the memories she had of growing up were usually in a small, two room apartment with paper-thin walls, but now all of a sudden her mother had all this money-and some guy named Malcolm. "Where is he anyways?"  
  
"He's on a business trip in Italy. He'll be back next week, will you still be around? I'd love for you to finally meet him."  
  
"No, I'll probably be leaving in a few days. What is his last name?"  
  
"It's Barring-," she was interrupted by the ringing phone. "I'll be right back, sweetie," she said getting up and leaving the room.  
  
"Bearing?" she said, thinking that was an odd last name.  
  
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Ricky woke up, wondering if the whole night had been a dream. He looked over in the bed and didn't see Casey, "Great, I must have imagined her- AGAIN!" He went to the kitchen, and saw her sitting on the couch. "Hey drummer boy," she said looking back at him and smiling.  
  
"Are you real?" he said standing next to the couch and looking down at her.  
  
"Are you ever going to stop asking that question? Because it's starting to get really old."  
  
--------  
  
Jamal sat there looking at Medea, "Alright, fine. I'm ready to hear it all."  
  
"Ok, but first," she said getting up and pouring them both a cup of coffee. "This may take awhile. The sheriff you saw, his name is Paul Butler. He was a friend of Imani's father-they worked together, as her father was a cop also. Anyways, Isaac and Paul went out one night after work. Isaac must have completely forgotten what day of the month it was-and after they went drinking they were walking back to the car and Isaac turned into the wolf. Paul was able fend off Isaac and get home."  
  
"So Paul knew that he was a werewolf then? He got away, and he should have known Isaac didn't want to attack him-right? I know how that feeling is- you don't want to hurt people you care about, but that something inside you makes you attack."  
  
"Exactly. The next day Isaac didn't go to work, he didn't want a confrontation. The problem is that that night there was a murder behind an alley in town. The murder is still unsolved," she said taking a breath.  
  
"But Paul thought he knew who did it." 


	7. Chapter 7 All Rali

Disclaimer: ABC/Disney owns everything.I think.yeah, everything.  
  
A/N: Let me explain where this chapter came from. As I wrote this story, I was leading up to everything else at a faster rate than I was Alison and Rafe's honeymoon. So, I figured nobody would hate me if I wrote an all Rali chapter, so they could play catch up. I know I don't have to say this, but please enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Now this is fun," said Rafe as they both came up to the surface. They had decided to leave Sydney for a few days and took a plane up to Cairns so they could visit the Great Barrier Reef.  
  
"You would say this was fun, compared to your freaking out over the poor kangaroo. I always thought you were joking before about them freaking you out," she said smiling as she took off the mask and mouth piece for a minute. "It wasn't going to hurt you, Rafe."  
  
"Can we please get off the subject of that stupid animal?" he asked again. The day before they had gone to one of those zoos where you can see the animals up close, and as the kangaroo came up towards them Rafe had embarrassed himself by jumping behind Alison for protection. Since then she hadn't let him live it down.  
  
"Fine," she said putting the mask back on, and going back underwater. She caught sight of a school of orange fish, and went to point it out to Rafe and saw he wasn't there. Looking around she didn't see him anywhere and went back up, "Rafe!" she yelled, trying to find him. "Rafe this isn't funny. Where are you?" she said as he came up from below and grabbed her ankle and causing her to hit him in the chin.  
  
"Ow. That hurt," he said rubbing it.  
  
"You deserved that. Where did you go to?"  
  
"I went over there," he said pointing behind her. "You forgive me?" he said as he pulled her in next to him.  
  
"Mmm, I guess so," she said as they began to kiss.  
  
---------  
  
"Alright, I'm exhausted," said Alison as she came in and laid down on the bed. "I never realized scuba diving was such a strenuous workout."  
  
"Yeah, too bad we can't offer it in the gym," he said with a laugh. "I've got a question for you," he said as he came and laid down behind her on the bed.  
  
"What's that?" she said, already knowing what was about to happen.  
  
"Are you too exhausted for this?" he said as he pulled himself up and started to kiss the spot behind her ear. "Or this?" he said as he began to slowly roll her towards him. He looked into her eyes and saw the approval in her eyes before he went down to her stomach and started to kiss it, lifting up the white tank top she was wearing.  
  
"Rafe?" she said softly.  
  
"Hmmm?" he said looking up at her.  
  
"Nevermind," she said, completely forgetting what she was about to say just the second before. Her thoughts were now of her husband and what he was doing to her.  
  
--------  
  
"It feels so good out here," she said as they walked hand in hand along the beach. It was late evening, and the sun was almost down, but they didn't care. All that mattered was the two of them.  
  
He stopped in mid step and just watched her for a second, how could he have been given such a beautiful person for a wife. Not just physically, but a soul so beautiful and so pure that ten years ago he never thought someone like her would exist.  
  
"What's wrong?" she said stopping and turning back to look at him.  
  
"Come here," he said as he held out his hand and she walked back to him. He pulled her in, and they began to slowly dance as the last rays of light left the land, and the ocean came up and nipped at their feet.  
  
---------  
  
Rafe walked in and put down the bags. They were back in Sydney having enjoyed the few days they spent on the upper coast.  
  
"Hey Rafe, I'm going to go downstairs to the gift shop. I'll be right back," she said.  
  
"Ok, I think I'm going to lie down for a nap. Wake me up when you get back," he said going over to the bed and stretching out.  
  
When she came back up a few minutes later she looked in on him, "Sleeping like a baby," she said smiling. "Baby," she said picking up the bag they gave her downstairs and taking out a box and reading the directions she went in the bathroom to find out if her intuition was right. 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Don't own anything, don't think I do.  
  
A/N: Awian's: Glad you three (Yes Gracie, you are now officially an Awian ;)) enjoyed the story. Melody-the only reason I sent them to Australia was because of the kangaroo joke. Was surprised nobody else remembered that until now.  
  
Didi: I've learned something since I started writing, and that is I suck at writing anything non-Rali. If I were able to write some good Casey and Ricky stuff, I would so love to write you a fan fic with just them in it. I'm sorry.  
  
Anyways, everyone enjoy. Until next time-PCGirl. ~~~~~~  
  
"Honey, I'm home," said Chris in a Dezi voice as he entered his loft. He had to work the late shift last night, and all he wanted to do was have a nice martini and then go to bed.  
  
"Hey there," said Elizabeth walking out from sewing world, as he lovingly called it. "How was work?"  
  
"T'was lovely. I heard the wedding was lovely also," he said as he began to make a drink up.  
  
"Sorry you couldn't make it. Alison asked where you were."  
  
"Well, someone had to cover Thornhart's shift. Where is the lovely sound of sewing machines that I've grown accustomed to?" he asked, noticing the silence.  
  
"I gave them the day off. Figured you'd be pretty tired after the long shift."  
  
"You didn't have to do that. I mean the quicker we're done with the sewing mess, the happier I'll be. You want a drink?"  
  
"No, I'll let you go to sleep," she said as she began to walk towards the door. She was stopped though as he grabbed her hand and twirled her around, "I will, if you'll join me," he said with a smirk on his face.  
  
---------  
  
"Alright, so you know what to do?" he asked Annette while handing her a check.  
  
"I'll go back to Transylvania and persuade the girl to come here. I'm sure it won't be any trouble at all, Caleb," she said touching the side of his face with her hand.  
  
"If she says she wants more money tell her it will come after the deed is done, and not a moment before. Oh, and thank you so much for being such a wonderful hostess to both Olivia and I, and Rafe and Alison. I'm sure Rafe and Alison enjoyed their little retreat, even if they had no idea as to who- or what-you really were," he said, taking her hand in his, and kissing her knuckles as he started to drift into her eyes. He stopped though, and gave her one last grin before walking off. He was, after all, a married man now.  
  
--------  
  
"You're here for real this time, right?"  
  
"Yes, I'm here," she said taking a deep breath. "And hopefully for good."  
  
"You don't know for sure? So this is some type of mission?"  
  
"That's just it, I don't know. Ed called me into his office, and told me I was to come down here to enjoy my time with you. He didn't say how long I was here, or if I had a mission."  
  
"So what are you guessing he wants?"  
  
"I'm thinking he wants me to watch out for Rafe, you know-make sure he doesn't go off the deep end when--," she said stopping before the final words came out.  
  
"When what? Casey, what's going to happen?"  
  
-------  
  
Rafe rolled over, and opened his eyes to see a stuffed kangaroo sitting on Alison's pillow. "Will you ever give up?" he laughed as he took the note that was sitting underneath it. "Rafe, Paige and I went shopping. We'll be back before dinner. Love you forever, Alison". He smiled, and then got up-ready to make their last night here memorable.  
  
--------  
  
"This is just great," said Jack as he looked around the storeroom. "My best friend and one of my workers are left. And now I come up to the storage room, and the place is a mess. It's going to take me half a day to clean this mess up, half a day I don't have since I'm short handed," he said trying to stack up some of the overturned boxes. Some movement in the corner caught his eye. "Who's there? Come out now," he demanded.  
  
"It's just me, Ramsey," said Frank as he stumbled out of the shadows.  
  
--------  
  
"Yes, he thought he did it, but he was wrong. Anyways, Isaac and Imani went fishing a few days later-Paul followed them there. He first acted like he had some important work business. Imani heard noises from behind the bushes, and went and saw Paul killing her father. Isaac's last words to his daughter were 'Run, and never look back'."  
  
"Ok, so fine. I've got two questions for you. First, how did Paul become a werewolf? If that's what he is. Second, who did kill the person in the alley that night.  
  
-----  
  
Rafe looked at the layout of the room, "Perfect. I think," he said, wondering if was too much. He didn't have time to change his mind though as he heard the front door open, "Hello," he said as he saw her walk in and a shock of look on her face.  
  
"What have you done?" she said looking at the roses and candles. "Did you know about this?" she said looking at Paige.  
  
"No, Alison," she said as she set down the bags.  
  
"Well, goodbye Paige," he said giving her a smile, and then heading her out the door. "You bought all of this?" he asked, as he started to snoop around in bags.  
  
"Well, yeah," she said sheepishly.  
  
"How do you expect us to pack all of this in the suitcases we have?" he asked looking at her after she slapped his hand away from a bag. "What's in there that I can't see?"  
  
"We'll buy another suitcase if we need to," she said as a knock on the door. "Dinner? Well, why don't you let him in, and I'll try this on," she said grabbing the bag and going to the bathroom.  
  
--------  
  
"Frank? How long have you been up here? And what happened to this place?" said Jack as he started to try and straighten boxes.  
  
"I've been here for a few weeks. Surprised nobody saw me. And, I guess I might have stolen a few bottles of liquor from downstairs. You just don't understand how bad it's been," he said, as he came out from the shadows and started to help clean up the mess he made.  
  
"Listen, I understand it's hard. But wouldn't Karen want you to start moving on?"  
  
"She probably wants me to burn in hell now. I was the reason she ran out in front of that car."  
  
"That doesn't matter. A person can do something wrong for one second, and we still forgive and move on though."  
  
--------  
  
"Dinner's ready Alison," he said knocking on the bathroom door.  
  
"Alright, I'll be right there," she yelled, as she tried to tie the back up. "Here I am," she said as she walked out and saw him trying not to laugh. "What's wrong with it?" she said looking in the mirror and fixing the straps on the pale yellow sundress she wore.  
  
"Well, it's a little big on you dear," he said stealing a grape from the tray. He was starving, and was not up for a pre-dinner fashion show.  
  
"Yeah, well I'll grow into it," she said looking at her profile.  
  
"The only way you can grow into it is if you stuff this pillow under it," he said throwing it at her.  
  
"That's a great idea," she said with a laugh, sticking it underneath her dress, now making her look about seven months pregnant.  
  
He looked at her running her hand over the pillow, and it hit him-it was a maternity dress, "Alison? Are you--? Are we--? Pregnant?"  
  
"Mmm hmm," she said walking over to him with the pillow still under the dress. "So how do you think the dress looks now?"  
  
"It looks wonderful," he said having her sit down on the bed on his lap. "Oops, let's get this out of the way," he said grabbing the edge of the pillow and pulling it out. "And, would you care for one of these?" he asked, grabbing a chocolate covered strawberry, and feeding it to her, trying not to get any juice on the dress.  
  
------ 


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I. Don't. Own. Anything.  
  
A/N: This is a blah chapter-at least I think it is. Anyways, enjoy!  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Anyone ever tell you that you are a nosy one?"  
  
"All the time, ma'am," he said with a laugh.  
  
"Figures," she said rolling her eyes. "As you know-to be turned into a werewolf you must be bitten by one. Well, Isaac was considered by those who are werewolves to be the leader. The others hunted Paul down, planning on killing him. They almost did, but he survived the attack. About the man in the alley, even I don't know who did that. But I wonder if somehow Paul killed him to make it look like a werewolf did it."  
  
"So when Imani comes back what do we do? I mean he's going to go after her, if he isn't right now."  
  
"When she comes back, and she will I want you two to leave-and make sure she doesn't look back. You are a good man Jamal, and I really think you will take good care of her."  
  
------  
  
"What is about to happen, Casey?" said Ricky as they walked into the Elixir.  
  
"I can't tell you. I've already said too much, and I need to watch my mouth."  
  
"But I thought you weren't an angel anymore. What does it matter if you do or don't tell me something?"  
  
"I'm still an angel, I just don't know for how much longer. Listen, it'll happen soon enough and then you will know what I'm talking about. Ok?"  
  
"Fine. Hey Jack, what's happening?" he said as Jack came from around back.  
  
"Not much. You two want a job? Go help Frank clean up the storeroom."  
  
"Frank? What is he doing in the storeroom? First Karen's grave, and now this? The guy has some serious issues."  
  
"Uhm, Ricky-why don't you stay out here and I'll go help Frank," said Casey and she went on back.  
  
"Look what the cat drug in," said Ricky as him and Jack looked at the door and saw Reese walking in. "How's it going?" he said as she kept walking past me. "Hey, that's no way to greet a friend."  
  
"I don't feel like being all chummy, alright Garza?"  
  
-------  
  
"Yo Frank!" said Casey as she came barreling into the storeroom.  
  
"I'm busy Casey. What do you want?"  
  
"I'm here to help you out. In more ways than one," she said as she went over to a corner of the room and began to stuff napkins back into a box. She stayed quiet for a few minutes until she was sure he was ready to hear her, "Karen gave me a message for you."  
  
"Let me guess," he said picking up a box and slamming it down, "She said that she hopes I enjoy burning in hell."  
  
"Not cool man. No, she said she'll always love you, and that she wants you to move on. Learn to live with what you have, and not dwell on the past."  
  
"How can I learn to live with what I have when I have nothing? Hmmm, Casey? Did she give you some insight to that?"  
  
"You have more than you think," she said then going back to work.  
  
-------  
  
"Remind me why we have to go back home?" said Alison, upset that the week was already over.  
  
"Because we have a life in Port Charles. Not to mention a business to run- they might begin to miss us."  
  
"Well, I hate to tell them this, but I haven't missed them at all," she said, as she finished packing her clothes.  
  
"Same here, but we will sooner or later. And anyways, the room was only paid for a week."  
  
"How did your dad get this room reserved for us anyways?" she said as they opened the door to see Paige there, ready to help them go.  
  
"I don't know how he could have done that," said Rafe as he smiled over at Paige. "Are we all set for our final adventure, Mrs. Smith?" he said to her.  
  
"I believe so. We better hurry though, not much time left."  
  
"Final adventure?" said Alison, unsure of what these two were talking about.  
  
---------  
  
"Sorry, didn't know you were in a bad mood, that's all," said Ricky taking a step back.  
  
"I found my mum."  
  
"Really? Well, that's a good thing right?"  
  
"I guess. Something just didn't feel right. Remember how I told you how we always lived in little two room shacks and stuff?"  
  
"Yeah, hard times."  
  
"Well, now she's living it up in a three bedroom loft over the Thames. It just doesn't make sense. I mean if she had this money all along then why didn't she use it when I was growing up. If she didn't, then where did she find the rich guy who would want to take her and give her all this stuff all of a sudden?"  
  
"Did you ask her?"  
  
"No, I just let it go. Some things are better not knowing. Am I imagining things?" she said as Casey walked out of the storeroom and over to Jack."  
  
"Nope. Casey's back," he smiled. "Hey babe," he said calling her over.  
  
"Hey. Frank went to go shower up and shave. He said he'll be back in a bit to finish cleaning up. Reese-how's it going?"  
  
------- 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: You know the drill.  
  
A/N: Glad everyone is enjoying the story. As Gracie keeps saying-the end of the honeymoon is in sight. Anyways, keep on enjoying. Until the next chapter-PCGirl  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Rafe, why are we here?" asked Alison as they now sat on the steps of the Opera House. "It's not even sunrise yet, and the plane leaves in what-two hours? We're supposed to be there by now."  
  
"Actually, it leaves in three hours. I wanted to just sit here and watch the sun rise. That's all."  
  
"Well, we won't be able to see it, were not even facing the right direction."  
  
"I just thought it'd be a nice idea to see the first sunrise of the first day of our new life as husband and wife."  
  
"I think it's perfect," she said as she scooted over and into his arms, as they waited for the sun to rise on a new life.  
  
-------  
  
"Alright. I've taken a shower, shaved, sobered up some," said Frank as he looked in the mirror. "Now all I've got to do is finish cleaning up the Elixir," he said as he heard the doorbell. "Casey, I told you to give me some time and then I'll be back," he said as he went and opened the door. "Neil," he said with a look of surprise on his face.  
  
"Hi dad."  
  
"So what are you doing here? Where's your mom at?" he said looking around and not seeing Courtney anywhere around.  
  
"She's still back home. She sent me here. Can I come in?"  
  
"Sure," he said as he let him come in. "I bet you're hungry," as he went and opened the fridge to see nothing in there except a carton of milk. Taking it out he opened it to smell, "Whoo. That is really bad. Hey, why don't we go to the store and get some food. Then later we can go by and see Grandma Mary. How's that sound?"  
  
"Sounds good," as the two left, Frank grabbing his cell phone to call and say he'd be arriving at the Elixir a little later than he planned.  
  
-------  
  
They had been waiting most of the day, but finally they heard footsteps up to the door. As it opened, Jamal jumped up and gave Imani a hug, "I was so worried about you. Are you ok? Did Paul come after you?"  
  
"I'm fine," she said looking over at Medea, "I wasn't sure what to do, or where to go, but I figured I'd come back here first before I left. Jamal, you have to go back to Port Charles now. It's too dangerous now that he's back around."  
  
"I'm coming with you."  
  
"No, you can't," she said waiting for Medea to agree with her.  
  
"Yes, he is," she said instead. "He knows the whole story now Imani-the entire truth. I think it'll be better if he goes with you, at least in the beginning."  
  
"Really?" she said. "But what if I hurt you Jamal. What if when I turn the next time I attack you."  
  
"I can take care of myself," he said with a laugh.  
  
"Alright, then what are we waiting for?" she said as she looked at him and smiled.  
  
------  
  
"So how long will you be here this time? Just long enough to make him believe in you again, and then leave again so he can start imagining you? Hmmm, missy?"  
  
"I'm here for good," she said, as she stood up to Reese.  
  
"Casey, phone!" yelled Jack across the bar.  
  
"Yo," she said answering the phone.  
  
"Casey, I'm-uhm-you probably knew about this anyways," said Frank as he looked over to Neil sitting next to him. "Thanks for what you said earlier, you were right. I probably won't get over there in time to help anymore today."  
  
"No problem. I'm sure Ricky will help out. Later man," she said hanging up the phone, then looking up and saying thank you.  
  
----------  
  
Rafe and Alison walked into the Elixir, happy to be back from their honeymoon. Alison stopped to talk to Jack, while Rafe decided to see Casey when he saw her standing next to Ricky and Reese. He walked up behind her and leaning down whispered in her ear, "I heard you were back in town."  
  
She turned around, "Rafe! If it isn't the married old man himself. How'd you know I was back though?"  
  
"Paige was our chauffer," he said with a grin. "So how was the old man upstairs?"  
  
"He's good. Missing you like crazy still, but did you enjoy his wedding present?"  
  
"Very much," he said as Alison came up behind him, and put her arms around her waist. "Hi, Casey," she said then nodding at Ricky, then at Reese.  
  
"Bloody hell," said Reese, out of nowhere. "I can't believe I didn't figure it out earlier. It was you," she said pointing to Alison.  
  
"Excuse me? I've been out of town for a week so I don't know what you could be blaming me for," she said as she started to get an attitude.  
  
"No, my mom's new main squeeze. He's some rich guy who's got her living the high life in London. There was a picture of him, he has your eyes, and my mom started to say his last name. It was Bearing-something."  
  
"I have my dad's eyes, but" she said stopping and looking at Rafe, "he's been dead for over a year now."  
  
--------  
  
"So the happy couple is back from their honeymoon?" smiled Caleb as he sat in his chair, with a drink in his hand. "I guess I better be one of the first to congratulate them," he said as he went to leave, and was stopped by Livvie.  
  
---------  
  
"Are they gone?" asked Chris, as he stuck his head around the corner with a sheepish grin on his face.  
  
"Yes, they left about half an hour ago," she said rolling her eyes at him. "We've got another week or so to go on the sewing, and then we're done with the whole 'George' thing."  
  
"Awww. And I was so enjoying it," he said coming up behind her and grabbing her by the waist.  
  
"Really? Because I couldn't sleep the other night, and started doing some drawings--."  
  
"Elizabeth, stop. Just stop, I was being facetious," he said as he let go of his grasp and backed away from her."  
  
"Oh, alright," she said as her phone rang. "Elizabeth Barrington. What's wrong sweetie? Why do you want that? Alright, I'll get you one, and meet you at the Elixir. Just explain to me when I get there," she said hanging up the phone. "I'll be back in a little bit," she said giving Chris a quick peck on the cheek, and heading out the door.  
  
"I've really got to start meeting people who aren't nutcases," said Chris as he sat down at the mini-lab and went to work.  
  
---------  
  
"Where were you headed to my love?" asked Livvie as she placed her hand on his face. She wanted to try her best, and make it work with Caleb. She loved him, and she knew he loved her too, but lately his mind had been preoccupied and it wasn't on her.  
  
"I was heading out-that's all. I'll be back soon, I promise," he said giving her a kiss and trying to get out of the doorway.  
  
"But, I was thinking," she said turning him around to face her. "We never did have our honeymoon, and maybe I could put on that little black negligee you asked me to pack," she said tilting her head sideways and flashing him a smile. He looked at her for a second, and figured that telling the slayer the truth could wait a few hours as he picked her up off her feet and over to the bed.  
  
----------  
  
"Alright, I'm here," said Elizabeth as she walked up to the couch where Alison, Rafe, and Reese now sat. She handed the picture to Alison, who looked at it, and then passed it to Reese.  
  
"That's him. Without a doubt, that is the picture my mum had in her place."  
  
"What's going on?"  
  
"I've got a strange feeling, but I think Reese is my sister, and Malcolm Barrington is alive and well," said Alison as she looked at her mom. 


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? Alright: story and characters==ABC/Disney. Me==nothing.  
  
A/N: I am so glad you are all enjoying this. Writing this story has brought more closure to me than I thought it could, and it's fun in the process. This story should be the length of a regular arc (ie. It will last until the New Year), but may go over a bit. Anyways, enjoy. Until next time-PCGirl  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"So what are you telling me?" asked Reese as they buckled themselves into the Barrington jet. Everyone had decided to not put off the idea as a mere coincidence, so now the four of them were headed to London.  
  
"Malcolm Barrington had a daughter, Reese," said Rafe, as he sat next to Alison. "He also had a very long-secretive relationship with a woman that not even Elizabeth here knows who it is."  
  
"All I know is he brought her up on a few occasions, and his eyes always seemed to light up when he mentioned her," said Elizabeth who had tried to get Chris on the phone, but must have had an emergency at the hospital.  
  
"Can we please discuss something else? I am not sitting on this plane for the next few hours and listening about what my father did, and who he may or may not have slept with," said Alison as she laid her head against Rafe's shoulder. She was tired, and he could tell.  
  
"I wonder if it's safe for you to fly with your condition," said Rafe as he straightened Alison's ring on her finger.  
  
"What condition?" asked Elizabeth, getting worried by the way Rafe was talking.  
  
Alison's face got red, and she put her forehead against his shoulder. With everything that had happened in the past hour she had completely forgot to tell anyone she was pregnant. She moved her head to look at her mother with a smile on her face, but before she said anything Elizabeth gave out a squeal, "You're pregnant! My little girl is pregnant!" she said as she started to get up out of the seat as the plane started to move.  
  
----------  
  
He was standing over her on the bed buttoning up his shirt. He wanted to stay there next to her, but the more he thought about it the more he realized this had to be done. He couldn't let the blonde raise their child with him thinking he was the father. Of course, if he were a smart slayer he would figure out almost as soon as the child was born. So giving his wife a kiss on her forehead, he left the apartment to welcome the newlyweds back from their honeymoon.  
  
----------  
  
Rafe jumped up and grabbed Elizabeth before the sudden movement caused her to fall, and switched seats with her, "Here, you go ahead and you two talk all you want about baby stuff," he said sitting next to Reese. "What's your mother's name?" he asked, trying to strike up a conversation with her.  
  
"Deborah. Whenever she talked about my father before she said he was a drunk. For some reason I don't see Malcolm as a drunk."  
  
"Maybe she was just trying to keep you off track on finding him, and ruining his life."  
  
"So by not ruining his life I got stuck with the crummy one instead?"  
  
"Trust me, I doubt your life would have been any better if he had been in it," said Alison-forgetting that her mother was sitting next to her, "Sorry, mom."  
  
"It's ok sweetie. I know I wasn't there for you growing up," she said, suddenly getting sad.  
  
"But you are here now, and you are going to be here to watch this little one grow," she said taking her mom's hand and placing it on her stomach.  
  
----------  
  
Casey had just finished putting the suitcases in Rafe and Alison's apartment. In the haste of things, they hadn't even unpacked the car, but Casey and Ricky had said they wouldn't mind. Ricky was downstairs waiting on her, and as she turned to meet him she was greeted by Caleb, "Hey man, What's happening?" she said, trying to act normal.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he asked, leaning against the wall, and blocking her exit.  
  
"Was just putting some stuff up for my friends, that's all. You know how life can be sometimes, you get back home and then are off again."  
  
"Are you going to tell me where they are Casey?" he asked moving his hand up towards her face before having it slapped away.  
  
"I'm an angel still, Caleb. You can't hurt me, and I won't tell you where they went to."  
  
"I can hurt your little drummer boy though," he said as he turned away from her and walked to go find Ricky.  
  
-------  
  
Chris walked into the apartment with bags in his hands. He had decided that for dinner tonight he would make him and Elizabeth a nice Italian meal. Putting down the bags, he clicked the answering machine button, "You have one new message. Hi Chris, it's Elizabeth. I was hoping to get you, but I guess you had an emergency at the hospital. Just as well-I've got to fly to London tonight. Hopefully it won't be more than a few days. See you when I get back. Oh, Iris called me and said she left her purse and will be coming over later to get it. Ta!"  
  
"Well, that's just great. What am I going to do with all this stuff?" he said looking at the bags at his feet.  
  
"I'll join you for dinner," he heard behind him. Turning around he saw Iris standing there in a short black dress, as his mind tried to make him think of anything other than the sight in front of him.  
  
------  
  
"Caleb?" she said waking up from a restful sleep. "Caleb, are you home?" she said again, still getting no answer. She got up and walked around the apartment to make sure he wasn't in the shower or the kitchen. "Well, this is great. I've got a choice, I can go look for you or I can sit here and hope you come home," she said looking at the door, then grabbing her purse and heading out.  
  
--------  
  
"Wait, Caleb," she said, trying to think of a stalling tactic.  
  
"Are you going to tell me where they are now?" he said turning around to look at her, hoping that his threat on Ricky had changed her mind.  
  
"No, I'm still not telling you."  
  
"Then I'll go find Ricky," he said turning around.  
  
"You think he'll tell you? You think just like that he's going to tell you what they are doing?" she said snapping her fingers.  
  
"Yeah, I do," he said giving a smile and heading on.  
  
---------  
  
"What the?" said Ricky as he looked around and all of a sudden was in his apartment. "Casey? Casey, what did you do?" he said looking around the apartment. "I've got to find you," he said reaching for the doorknob and finding it was hot. "What is going on?" he said sitting down on the couch.  
  
---------  
  
"Jack, has Caleb been in here?" asked a now frantic Livvie. Something didn't feel right, and she wanted to find him fast.  
  
"Nope. Haven't seen him all day. Oh, Rafe and Alison are back from Australia."  
  
"They are? I've got to get over there," she said walking out.  
  
"But they--," he said about to tell her about the trip to London but she was out the door before he had a chance. "Oh well, she'll find out when she gets to the gym." 


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: What do you think?  
  
A/N: Geez-I didn't realize how much I can make people hate Caleb. Sure he's a jerk, sure he's trying to rip our couple apart, but he's just a misunderstood bat (HAHA-Whatever.) Anyways, everyone enjoy this chapter. You guys are the best. Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Ricky?" yelled Casey when she opened the door. He walked in and she ran and held him, "Oh baby. You are ok, right? I'd never done that before, and was worried it wouldn't work--," she said talking a mile a minute.  
  
"What wouldn't work? Why'd you do that?" he said, wanting some answers.  
  
"As I was coming down to meet you Caleb came by. He wanted to know where Rafe and Alison went, and when I wouldn't tell him he was about to come after you. He can't hurt me cause I'm still an angel, see? But you, I was so afraid he'd do something and I just snapped my fingers and hoped you were sent here."  
  
"Yeah, I was. I couldn't get out of the apartment to find you. Why is Caleb so hung up on finding Rafe and Alison? He's been this way since they left for Australia."  
  
"I can't tell you. You just have to trust me-it'll all come out soon enough."  
  
-------  
  
Reese stared out the window as they were almost finished crossing the Atlantic, "You know, it makes sense now."  
  
"What does?" asked Rafe, who had found a deck of playing cards, and was now playing his tenth game of solitaire.  
  
"I tried to bite her before," she said looking over at Alison, who was asleep along with Elizabeth.  
  
"Yeah, I walked in on you," he said looking up at her. "I thought that it was because of me coming in that stopped you, but it wasn't, huh?"  
  
"I guess not. I always wanted to know who my father was, and I was hoping that somehow he'd be this great guy. Maybe he didn't even know I existed, and would be thrilled to find out I did, but the way she was talking earlier he knew about me."  
  
"Yeah, I think he did. Why he chose Elizabeth over your mom though, well that can be answered when we see him. You know what's sad, my father died before I was born and he wanted to help raise me so bad," said Rafe thinking back to when he found out that Ed was his father.  
  
"And here is this guy, rich as anything, who knows he has two daughters. Does he want any part of their life? No, not really-he cares more about his friends and his money."  
  
"Interesting how life works out," he said going back to the solitaire game.  
  
---------  
  
Caleb sat on the couch with a drink in his hand. When he had gone down to find Ricky he was gone, and then Casey had fled also. She must have done something to make him disappear, and when he came back home Olivia had left. Who knows where she went to. He had been so preoccupied with finding a way to destroy Rafe that he hadn't paid any attention to her. He looked up and saw her walking in, "Olivia," he said with a smile.  
  
"Where were you earlier? I went all around this town trying to find you," she said sitting down next to him.  
  
"I had to go for a walk and clear my head."  
  
"You've been doing that a lot lately."  
  
"Yeah, well-I've got a lot on my mind right now, sweetheart. But that'll all change soon enough."  
  
"What do you have planned? Can't you at least tell me that much?" she said as he just looked at her in silence.  
  
-------  
  
"Iris, uhm, hi," said Chris as he picked back up the groceries. "Elizabeth said you left your purse, I'll go get it for you."  
  
"Don't go out of your way for me," she hollered as he ran back into the sewing area. Where was that stupid purse? Was she just playing with his head? Then he saw it, grabbing it he ran back out and handed it to her, "Oh, thanks," she said sadly.  
  
"Well, Iris-I don't mean to be rude, but I've got to go," he said shoving her out the door and locking it behind him. He leaned against the door with his eyes closed, "Eve, I know you are watching me-and that was NOT funny!" he shouted.  
  
---------  
  
"Do we even know if he's here now?" asked Alison as they walked up to the door.  
  
"No, but we're about to find out," said Reese as she knocked on the door. She waited a moment, and then her mother opened the door, "Hi sweetie. Who are these people?"  
  
Elizabeth pushed her way to the front, "Hi, I'm Elizabeth Barrington. Malcolm Barrington's wife," she said.  
  
"Oh, well please do come in," said Deborah, leading the way. She had heard of Malcolm's wife, and was curious as to how she found him.  
  
"Hello, dear," said Elizabeth in a sarcastic tone as she walked into the living room and saw him sitting on the couch, alive as ever.  
  
"Elizabeth," he said trying not to give a shocked expression. "How have you been?" as he got up and went to give her a hug. But instead, he got a slap straight across the face, which caused Rafe to hold in a snicker. This man had abandoned his wife a year ago, and she was going to let him know how she felt about him. "Don't you dare ask me how I've been. You left me. Did you know the police thought I had killed you? And all this time you've been here."  
  
Rafe leaned over to Alison, "I'm going to go back to the hotel room. I'll see you in a bit," he said giving her a kiss, and then quietly slipping out.  
  
"Here, let's sit down," he said pointing to the couch. "Who are these lovely ladies?" he asked completely unaware of them being his daughters.  
  
"You don't even recognize me?" said Alison as tears started to well up in her eyes. People say that when you are pregnant you get more emotional-and they are right. "I'm your daughter, then one you ignored for twenty two years. And this, this is your other daughter-Reese Black."  
  
"Alison? I can't believe it's you," he said walking over and looking at her better. "You've grown up to be such a beautiful lady."  
  
"Too bad you weren't there to see it happen."  
  
Elizabeth saw where this was going, and decided it might be better to intervene, "Hey. You know what, Alison is very tired. She just got back from her honeymoon. So, why don't we go back to the hotel, and we'll come see you tomorrow? Reese, are you going to come with us?"  
  
"No, I think I'll stay here tonight."  
  
"Alright, see you then sweetie," he said trying to give her a hug, but she wouldn't let him.  
  
"Don't sweetie me," she said walking to the door, with Elizabeth behind her.  
  
------  
  
"Alright, let's see what we need?" said Frank as he began to go through the groceries they had bought.  
  
"Grandma Mary sure was happy to see me," smiled Neil.  
  
"Yeah, you brightened up her day a lot, and mine too. So what is your mom up to now anyways? What was so important she just let you come all the way back here by yourself?"  
  
"She's been hanging out with this guy, and I guess he finally told her to pick one-me or him. So she packed up this bag, and gave me a ticket to come live with you."  
  
"Do you have a phone number where I can call her?" he said, thinking it was time he gave her a piece of his mind.  
  
------  
  
"I can't believe he didn't recognize me," she said as they walked up to the hotel entrance. "I mean even you recognized me when Rafe brought you by the house that evening."  
  
"I'm so glad I went with him, and got to meet him before he proposed to you. And I'm so glad I'm in your life again."  
  
"Me too Mom," she said as they got to the entrance and had to stop as a lady walked out.  
  
"Elizabeth? Elizabeth Tripp?" asked the woman when she saw her standing there.  
  
Alison saw a look of surprise on her mother's face, "I'm sorry, you must have the wrong woman," she said then walking in the building. "Alright, sweetie. I'll see you in the morning, get some sleep-ok?"  
  
"Goodnight mom," she said going up the elevator by herself. Walking into the room she saw purple pajamas already laid out on the bed, "What's this?" she asked looking at Rafe.  
  
"Oh, I figured you'd be tired so I found your favorite pajama's to sleep in tonight," he said giving her a kiss and going to the bathroom.  
  
"You are so thoughtful," she said as she began to change. "Something weird happened downstairs though."  
  
"Yeah? What was that?"  
  
"This woman saw my mother, and asked if she was Elizabeth Tripp. She said she wasn't, but when she saw the woman she got this look of shock on her face. Almost as if she really did know who that woman was."  
  
"Well, is that your mom's maiden name?"  
  
"I don't know. I've never asked her," she said getting under the covers.  
  
"Well, we all have skeletons in our closets. Maybe this is one of Elizabeth's," he said walking back in. He looked and saw she was already sleeping. He walked over to his side of the bed, and got in next to her, holding her tight.  
  
-------- 


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: mmmm..nope  
  
A/N: Melody-glad you like that I brought Neil back, I've missed him myself. Plus, I had to come up with a story for Frank, he had what-3 or 4 days on the last arc? Poor guy.  
  
Nat: Wait until you read what Malcolm says today. ;)  
  
Everyone enjoy-you are the best-PCGirl  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
"Alison," said Malcolm with a smile as he let her, Elizabeth, and Rafe in.  
  
"Is Reese here?" she said looking around.  
  
"No, her and Deborah went out for a bit. Deborah thought it would be more comfortable for you two if she wasn't here. Can I get your chauffer anything?" he asked taking a look at Rafe.  
  
Rafe just let out a laugh, and then smiled, "I'm actually Alison's husband. Rafe Kovich, nice to meet you finally," he said taking Malcolm's hand for a shake.  
  
"Oh, excuse me. Well please come in and we'll sit down and talk," he said as he took a chair, and motioned to the other chair and couch in front of them. Alison and Rafe took the couch, while Elizabeth sat in the chair. "So how is everything going with you Alison?"  
  
"Now I'm doing fine," she said squeezing Rafe's hand. The three of them had talked on the drive over, and were going to try and not be short with him- even if they were upset at what had happened. "Rafe and I opened a gym together, and mom here has set us up with a whole personal line of clothing."  
  
"That's great. When did you get married?"  
  
"Over a week ago. It was a very intimate thing, nothing huge," she said as she tried to think of something to discuss. "I do have a question for you, Malcolm," she said, unable to call him father even. "Can you explain to us what happened on the boat that night you disappeared?" she said then looking at Elizabeth to see her waiting for an explanation herself.  
  
--------  
  
"Here you go, Frank," said Neil as he handed over the piece of paper with the number on it.  
  
"Hey, you know what? I bet there is an old game system in my bedroom closet. If you want to play video games while I make dinner and talk to your Mom you can," he said, wanting to get the boy out of hearing distance.  
  
"Cool," he said as he ran to go find it and set it up.  
  
"Alright," he said dialing the phone number. "Hey, Courtney, it's Frank Scanlon."  
  
"Oh, hi," she said. He could tell he had called at a time she must have been busy.  
  
"I just wanted to let you know that Neil made it here safely. How long are you wanting him to stay here?" he said, unsure if she should enroll the boy in school or not.  
  
"Permanently."  
  
-------  
  
"Alright, we're home," said Jamal as he opened the motel room door and walked in. After some convincing he had got her to take the motorcycle. They had driven from here to Arizona, who knows where they would be next week or next month. He wished he could call Jack and tell him what he was doing, but figured that the less people he talked to, the better it would be.  
  
"Are you sure you want to do this Jamal? I mean if I wake up tomorrow and you and your bike are gone, I really will understand."  
  
"Imani, what did I tell you before? You are stuck with me," he said pulling her in for a hug.  
  
--------  
  
"I guess you two do deserve an explanation."  
  
"I'd say so," said Elizabeth who was getting tired of this charade. Her mind was still on seeing Melanie last night.  
  
"Well, a few months before that night I had found out where Deborah was living. I decided then that I wanted to leave you, Elizabeth. I found this man here in London who was willing to help fake my death."  
  
"At the end though we were growing close. I don't understand why you went through with it. Were you stringing me along like always?"  
  
"Elizabeth, I did love you. I tried to get out of this agreement, but I couldn't find the Temple guy anywhere."  
  
"Joshua," said Rafe, under his breath but loud enough for Elizabeth and Alison to hear him partially. Alison looked at him, wanting to make sure she had just heard him right.  
  
"So I went through with the plan, hoping that maybe I could somehow come and tell you one day what really happened. When I asked where you had gone everyone said they didn't know."  
  
"So the Prince that was on the boat helped you?"  
  
"Yeah," said Malcolm, now feeling very low.  
  
-------  
  
"Sorry, I must have heard you wrong. Did you just say permanently?" said Frank, as his voice started to fill with anger.  
  
"Yeah, that's why I said. Is there a problem with that? Because if you don't want him, I'm sure I can dump him with someone else."  
  
"No, there's no problem with me having him right now Courtney. We're already enjoying ourselves. I can't believe you are so cruel as to just dump him because some man in your life doesn't like the boy."  
  
"It's complicated."  
  
"I don't care what the problem that man has. Anyways," he said trying to calm himself down, "He can stay with me for as long as I like. I'll get him enrolled in school tomorrow."  
  
"Fine, and don't call me again."  
  
"I won't," he said, slamming down the phone.  
  
-------  
  
Elizabeth watched Rafe and Alison walk off to tour London, then went inside. Pulling out her cell phone she saw she had two messages. Checking them she heard, "Hey Liz-beth. It's Chris. Just wanted to make sure everything was ok. Call me-bye." She had to smile, wondering what he might be up to right now-probably either at the hospital, or working on his cure for Ian and the others. She figured she'd save it, in case she wanted to hear his voice later on.  
  
She then went to the next message, "Hi Elizabeth. I know that was you I saw last night. Not sure why you acted like you didn't recognize me. Anyways, my number is 382-1984. Give me a call when you get this, I'd love to catch up." Elizabeth just turned off the cell phone, she definitely wasn't up for rehashing her past life.  
  
--------- 


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: PCGirl is getting tired of writing this.  
  
A/N: Hey everyone. I'm not feeling too great tonight so this will be short and sweet-everyone enjoy.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Are you sure you don't want to fly back with us?" asked Alison as she held Elizabeth's hand.  
  
"I'm sure sweetie. I'll fly back in a few days, just want to get some stuff settled with your father," she said giving her a kiss on the cheek as Alison and Rafe went to their room, and finished packing. She had been sitting trying to figure out what to do next when there was a knock on the door, "What is it, Alison?" she asked opening the door and seeing Melanie standing there. "Oh, it's you," she said as she walked in the room. "So what do you want?" she asked, after looking to make sure Rafe or Alison didn't see the blonde enter the room.  
  
"Is that any way to treat someone you used to call your sister?" asked Melanie as she sat down on the bed.  
  
"You were never my sister, and that's exactly the way you should be treated," she said as she took note of Melanie. Everyone had always said they could be sisters-but that was the farthest from the truth. "You know what? If you've come here to try and rehash old memories, then you are wasting your time," she said walking back to the door.  
  
"Alright, but I'm sure Alison would love to hear about how her mother grew up. Being a--," she was stopped as Elizabeth sat her back down on the bed. "I knew you would see it my way, Lizzy. You always did," she said as a smile came across her face.  
  
--------  
  
He knocked on the door, hoping that Ian could help him. He had so many questions, and was unsure what to do now. The door opened and there stood Ian, "Hey. Mind if I come in?"  
  
"I guess so. How have you been? Haven't seen you in awhile."  
  
"Yeah, well I've been drunk the entire past three months. But that is changing today. Neil, my son, came back yesterday. How do you do it Ian? How can you have Danny in the house and still be a vampire? Are you scared he'll see the real you and run?"  
  
"The real me, and the real you for that matter, is not a vampire. It's a father. From now on don't bring up that fact when you think you should give up. You were a father first and you still are a father first."  
  
"What about the blood? How do you hide it from him?"  
  
"Well, he's a lot younger than Neil. So I would say only feed when he's at school. Make sure that the bag is somewhere where he won't find it also."  
  
"Speaking of feeding, can I borrow a bag?"  
  
"Sure, if you want you can just keep your stash over here. Or at the Elixir would be a good idea too."  
  
"Yeah, that would make more sense. Thanks Ian."  
  
"No problem. Anything for a friend," he said patting him on the back, thinking that maybe this would be just the thing to change Frank around.  
  
--------  
  
"So what do you want? Other than obviously blackmailing me," she said speaking to her cousin very shortly. Just then the phone rang, "Hello? Oh hey Chris. Uhm no, I've got some stuff to do here first. Alright, I'll be expecting that martini and dinner when I get back. Bye," she said hanging up the phone.  
  
"Who was that-your boyfriend?" she asked.  
  
"No, just a good friend, that's all," she said wishing he was here right now to rescue her from this. Maybe Rafe would come by in a few minutes, but not Alison-she couldn't know what her mother went through growing up. Not now, not ever.  
  
"Well, I'll let you go. Hope you stay awhile," said Melanie as she walked out the door.  
  
"And good riddance," said Elizabeth as she slammed the door.  
  
---------  
  
Alison walked into the Elixir to place a to-go order and then head back to the Gym. "I'd like a cheeseburger with the works, and a taco salad," she said, then taking a seat.  
  
"Here you go ma'am," said the man immediately handing her a bag.  
  
"That was quick. Guess Rafe called over here while I was on the way," she said taking a peek inside the bag and seeing a note. "Alison, meet me at the Overlook. It's important-I know you're pregnant. Livvie," she said reading it out loud then placing it back in the bag. "Well, lunch is going to have to wait, Rafe," she said jumping out of her seat and out the door.  
  
----------  
  
"What do you want Livvie?" said Alison as she walked up to meet her. "Rafe is expecting me back soon."  
  
"How was the honeymoon?"  
  
"It was wonderful. Want to explain how you know about me being pregnant. The only person I've told is my mom."  
  
"Glad the honeymoon was wonderful. At least one of us had one," she said lifting up her left hand to show the wedding band. "As a wedding present, my dear husband gave me a video clip of you and him having intercourse in the barn."  
  
"Is that why you brought me up here? To finish me off for that?"  
  
"No, Alison. For once I do not want to kill you for what happened. It was my wish that caused it, I know. The thing is Caleb has wanted to find you two since you left for Sydney to tell Rafe the good news. You have got to tell Rafe before Caleb gets a chance to."  
  
"I can't tell him Livvie. And how can I really trust you right now? You might be saying this just to ruin our lives."  
  
"Fine, but when Caleb's plan explodes, and your perfect marriage comes crashing down around you, don't come bawling your baby blues to me," said Livvie, then walking off.  
  
-------  
  
"Hey," said Rafe as he looked up to see Alison walking into the gym. "Busy at the Elixir?"  
  
"Yeah, and then there was traffic," she lied, trying to make a believable explanation as to why she was so late getting back.  
  
"You know Halloween is on a Friday this year?" he said, taking out his cheeseburger, and going over to the couch.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Ok, I know as a retired slayer I shouldn't want this, but what if we turned this place in to a Halloween party for our friends. You know, just a small get together-tell them all at once we're going to have a baby."  
  
"Sounds fun. I guess we can get this place looking somewhat decent by Friday," she said looking around as ideas popped into her head. 


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I've checked and doubled checked-I don't own anything.  
  
A/N: Hey everyone. Ya'll are going to kill me--I'm going out of town this weekend, so don't expect another chapter until Monday or Tuesday. I know- I'm cruel, aren't I? LOL. I will have the next chapter uploaded on fanfiction (just not added to the story yet), so if I get a chance and get near a computer I will post it. Ya'll are great-until next time-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hey, what's going on here?" asked Livvie as she walked into the gym to see Alison standing on a ladder putting up decorations.  
  
"We're having a party later tonight," she said as she got down with Livvie holding the ladder. "We're telling everyone about the baby during it."  
  
"Alison, you can't do this. Caleb is going to come in here and ruin it. I'm telling you."  
  
"And I'm telling you this," she said as the two moved the ladder over a few feet. "You can either help me with these decorations or you can leave," she said as Livvie climbed up the ladder and was handed the decorations.  
  
"So have you got any name in mind?"  
  
"Well, definitely not Joshua. And sorry, but no Olivia or Caleb either."  
  
"Awww, I'm hurt," said Livvie as she began to smile. "So what, there will be no Junior?" she said, not realizing that Alison hadn't contemplated this was Caleb's child.  
  
"Excuse me? Are you saying that I'm pregnant with Caleb's child?"  
  
"Well, yeah-that's what Caleb said."  
  
"In case you haven't noticed, I don't believe anything that comes out of his mouth. Also, wouldn't Rafe sense that I was carrying hellspawn's baby?"  
  
"Don't take this the wrong way Alison, but he isn't exactly the sharpest stake in the box."  
  
"Livvie, thank you for hanging the decorations now I think you should leave."  
  
"Fine, have fun at your tacky party tonight."  
  
--------  
  
"What's wrong with you?" said Jack as he saw her come in and sit down in one of the chairs.  
  
"Oh, same old thing-I try and help someone and it backfires."  
  
"Usually it's you try and kill someone and it backfires. Do you even remember how to help someone, Livvie?"  
  
"Everyone's a comedian," she said getting down off the chair.  
  
"Lighten up some. Hey, Rafe and Alison are having a party later-why don't you come with me? It'll cheer you up probably."  
  
"Trust me Jack, they don't want to see me tonight. If they were smart they wouldn't have the party at all."  
  
"Do you know something you aren't telling me?"  
  
----------  
  
"Neil, there's a Halloween party later if you want to go to it," yelled Frank as he folded clothes in his room. "I can call and see if Serena will be there, if you want."  
  
"I guess that would be fun. Will Karen be there?" he said, then seeing the look in Frank's eyes. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Come here Neil," he said as he sat on his bed and patted the area next to him. "Neil, a few months ago Karen died."  
  
"Oh," said Neil as his voice got sad.  
  
"But you know what? I'm pretty sure she wouldn't want you to be sad."  
  
"Are you still missing her?"  
  
"Yeah, I am, kiddo. I miss her a lot."  
  
"Well, we can be sad together," he said standing up and giving Frank a hug, which brought tears to his eyes. But for the first time they weren't tears of sadness, but tears of happiness-because Karen was up there, knowing that Frank had a bigger mission in life than he had expected.  
  
----------  
  
"This place is getting full, and fast," said Alison as she hung on Rafe's arm, seeing people slowly coming in.  
  
"Well, yeah. You invited the whole town," he joked at her.  
  
"No, not all of it-only half," she said with a smile. "There's Chris, I'll be back," as she gave him a kiss and went off.  
  
"Hey Alison," said Chris, as he filled a small plate with grapes and cheese. "Have you talked to your mother lately?"  
  
"No, I was hoping you had. I'm sure everything's fine though," she said as she started to rotate her ring on her finger, which she always did when she started to worry about something.  
  
--------  
  
She was six years old again, standing in the middle of the living room with her Uncle, Melanie's father. She looked down at her clothes, soiled and beyond being worn-but that's what she got, Melanie's clothes that should be thrown away. She couldn't hear his voice, but could read his lips. She didn't need to hear his voice, she knew what he was saying.  
  
"No!" she screamed, waking up for her sleep. Her pillow was damp from sweat. Going to the bathroom she leaned over the toilet and threw up, then getting a wet wash cloth she attempted to fall back asleep-knowing too well that it would take hours before that was to happen.  
  
----------  
  
"What if I don't know anyone?" said Neil, worried about being the only kid there.  
  
"Nah, you'll know Serena. Lucy said she'd be here before we would," he said as he walked in the door, and saw Lucy standing with Serena near the door.  
  
"Hi," said Neil to Serena.  
  
"Hey," she said giving him a hug. "How have you been?"  
  
"I've been good," he said as they walked off to their corner to talk.  
  
"How's everything going with him?" asked Lucy.  
  
"Good. We registered for school today. He starts Monday. I was hoping that Serena and him might have a class together, so he won't be so shy."  
  
"You know how she is, Miss Perky. I'm sure she'll have him having more friends than he knows what to do with in a few weeks," she laughed as they looked over to where the two were now talking and laughing together.  
  
"Looks like Chris is giving me a weird look. We better go explain," he said as they walked over to let him in on the details of Frank's new-found fatherhood.  
  
---------  
  
"Well, hello," said Caleb as he stood in the open doorway. "Glad you could make it, I had started to get worried you wouldn't show up."  
  
"You must be Caleb," she said smiling, and walking over to shake his hand. "It was an offer I couldn't refuse."  
  
"That's what I figured. So you know everything you have to do?" he asked and was given a nod in response. "Good," he said giving her a kiss on the cheek and leaving. He had other plans for the evening, and he couldn't be late.  
  
---------  
  
"Maybe I should just go home," she said as she made a u-turn on the steps.  
  
"No, you've come this far Livvie to turn around," he said as he grabbed her arm and dragged her to the door. "Now smile, and play nice," he said, flashing a smile, as they entered.  
  
"Wow, this tacky party has gotten huge," exclaimed Livvie as she looked around.  
  
"Stop calling it tacky," said Alison as she came up and gave Jack a hug and kiss on the cheek, "You are late."  
  
"Sorry, we had to try and rush everyone out as quickly as we could," said Livvie, who was now Jack's new bouncer, as he called her.  
  
"Well, I am glad you got to see your masterpiece."  
  
"Yeah, it doesn't look too shabby," she said with her arms crossed at her chest.  
  
"This coming from someone who just called this place tacky," laughed Jack, who saw his brother and decided to go say hi.  
  
---------  
  
"Hey cousin," said Lucy as she walked up to Rafe.  
  
"Luce," he said giving her a hug. "I haven't had a chance to say how much I enjoyed seeing you at the wedding. Things have been kinda crazy, you know? I mean we find out that Alison's father is still alive, and then for some reason Elizabeth decided to stay back."  
  
"Something strange is that," she said pointing to Alison and Livvie talking and smiling. "When did they become friends again?"  
  
"I'm not sure, but Alison isn't complaining about it. Maybe marriage has made Livvie realize something."  
  
"I wish it would make her realize that she's now connected to a madman for an eternity."  
  
"Yeah, well let's not discuss him. I do have an announcement though," he said getting Alison's attention as she walked up next to him. She looked back at Livvie, seeing that she was still uneasy about this.  
  
"Everyone," yelled Rafe over everything else. Jack turned off the music, and went over to where Livvie was. "Alison and I wanted to thank you all for coming tonight. We're definitely enjoying ourselves, and all of your friendships. There is something else we want to tell though. While on the honeymoon we found out something very special. We are expecting our first child," he said as applause came from everyone.  
  
Just then the lights went out, "Hold on, I'll fix it," yelled Ian as he ran to the back. When the lights came back on there, at the entrance of the gym, was Caleb standing in the doorway. 


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Even when I'm in another state, I still don't own anything.  
  
A/N: YAY! If you are seeing this then I was able to get near a computer. Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
"What are you doing here?" said Rafe, as Alison turned around to look at Livvie, fear taking over.  
  
"I was so upset that this is a celebration of the coming of a child, and the father was not invited," he said looking at Alison with a smirk on his face. "You see, Olivia here made a wish-a wonderful wish to give me a night of passion I will never forget. Well, words can not describe that night, so here I'll give you a recap of it," he said as the images came upon the wall for all to watch.  
  
When the images stopped Rafe turned and looked at Alison and then at Livvie. Both girls had tears running down their faces-he had looked at them just before, and both seemed to be enjoying themselves, but now their lives had been turned upside down. And Rafe's life, well his was swirling around him in confusion. He went and sat down in one of the chairs and closed his eyes.  
  
Ian looked at Lucy and motioned to leave, but first she went over to him and knelt down, "I'm here for you always cousin. Remember that, always," she said grabbing his hands and kissing him on the forehead before leaving. As they left, everyone else followed.  
  
"Caleb, leave-now," said Alison as she looked at him and started to walk over to where Rafe was sitting. "I said NOW!" she yelled, as he tried to grab for Livvie's hand and she flinched away from him and walked on her own accord out of the room. "Rafe, please talk to me," she said kneeling in front of him. "I know you're angry at me and at the world right now. Just let me explain."  
  
"You want to explain now? It's a little late for that, Alison," he said wiping his eyes.  
  
"I know it is-I wanted to tell you so many times about that night. Livvie, she made this stupid wish-somehow it got twisted."  
  
"It's beyond twisted," he said getting up from the chair and starting to walk over to the stairwell.  
  
"Where are you going?" she said thinking he was going to go pack up and leave her.  
  
"I'm getting a broom," he snapped as he started to sweep up the gym. "We need to clean this place up," he said wanting to try and force the thought of Caleb and Alison out of his head for just a little bit longer.  
  
---------  
  
Chris walked into the apartment and threw his keys down, "So much for having a night of fun. There's one thing I know, and that is Alison needs her mother," he said picking up the phone and dialing the number. When he got her voice mail he cursed her name under his breath for not being there then left a message, "Elizabeth, it's Chris. Alison and Rafe hit a rough spot in their marriage tonight, and I just think you should know that she needs you really bad right now. So call her, or me, or just come on home- whatever is so important in London can wait, you are seriously needed here. Call me," he said hanging up the phone, and going to see what he could do to waste the rest of the night doing.  
  
--------  
  
They walked into the apartment in complete silence. It had taken them just over an hour to clean up the gym from the party, and the entire time had been silence. Alison went and sat down on the bed, "Rafe, I want to talk."  
  
"Not right now, in the morning," he said getting his brown coat out of the closet.  
  
"Where are you going now?"  
  
"I need to get out," he said as he looked at her. He knew she was sorry for what had happened, but right now he just needed to get some fresh air-and lots of it. He couldn't believe he was actually wanting to get away from her, but he closed the door behind him and started walking.  
  
----------  
  
Rafe walked into the Elixir and up to the bar. He didn't want to walk out on Alison earlier, but he was just tired. Tired of trying to act like everything was ok-which it was far from being.  
  
"What can I get you, Rafe?" asked Jack as he walked over to where he was sitting.  
  
"I don't care, just make it strong and in multiple quantities."  
  
"I'm guessing you aren't doing well then," he said as he poured a shot.  
  
"How do you expect me to be doing? She slept with Caleb. I mean it could have been anyone else, but why in heaven's name did it have to be him?" he said taking the shot and motioning for more.  
  
"I don't know, but you'll get through this-you two always do."  
  
"Thanks for the bought of confidence, but right now I'm just up for drowning my sorrows," he said taking another shot. It was late, and what he wanted to do was go crawl into the bed, but he couldn't do that-not yet anyways.  
  
"Well, you've come to the right place," he said as he looked up and saw Livvie walk in. "Looks like another newlywed is here to drown her sorrows too," he said as Rafe turned and looked at her as he wondered if this night could be any worse.  
  
----------  
  
She looked out the window and wondered when he'd be home. She figured he just needed some time to relieve tension, and then he'd come home. Her hand landed on her stomach and she looked down, "You have to be Rafe's baby, you just have to be," she said quietly to the child growing inside her. "And hopefully your daddy will forgive me, and then we can start our life that we want."  
  
She looked at the clock, it was late-maybe she should call and see if he went to the Elixir. No, she didn't want him to think she'd already become the nagging housewife. Instead she went and got a cup of yogurt out of the fridge to eat, and went and laid down on the bed.  
  
-------  
  
"Not enjoying the honeymoon either?" asked Rafe as he raised a glass to Livvie before downing another. "Bartender, another please."  
  
"I think you've had enough Rafe," said Jack who poured Livvie a glass of wine.  
  
"How long have you been here Rafe?" asked Livvie, who had never quiet seen him in this condition before.  
  
"Long enough I'm sure for Caleb and Alison to go sneaking off together," he said as he rubbed his eyes.  
  
"When did you become such a cynic?"  
  
"When did you become so needy that you had to make a stupid wish that backfired? Nevermind, all your plans backfire, don't they, Olivia?"  
  
Jack decided to let the two banter back and forth for a few minutes, and went to the other end of the bar to make a phone call, "Hey. Can you come down here? I think Rafe might need some help getting home. Alright, see you in a bit."  
  
"Don't tell me you just called Alison, because I'll leave right now if you did," he said getting off the chair and stumbling slightly.  
  
"I didn't call Alison. I called Ian, figured he could help you get somewhere to sleep for the night," he said as poured Rafe a cup of coffee and waited on Ian.  
  
--------  
  
"You should have punched his lights out," said Ian as he drove Rafe back to Lucy's.  
  
"Yeah, that would have been an extra bonus to tell the kid. We told our friends, and then I punched who we thought might have been your father," laughed Rafe.  
  
"What are you going to do if the baby is Caleb's?"  
  
"It's not Caleb's," he said, his voice getting more serious than it had been most of the night.  
  
"But let's just say it is, Rafe. I don't want to start an argument tonight, but what if in nine months that baby comes out with jet black hair-what are you going to say?"  
  
"I don't know what I'll say or do," said Rafe as he stared out the window and contemplated his next move. 


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: PCGirl-0, ABC-1.  
  
A/N: I'm back! I know I created some havoc with that mean old cliffhanger, but come on-you enjoyed wondering what was going to happen for a few days. I realized something the other day-all four of the Aww quadruplets are writing their own stories, but it seems like me and Gracie are the two doing the most updating lately. So I would LOVE to read some the other two stories, whenever ya'll get a chance (HINT HINT HINT) Until next time-ya'll are the best-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
He walked into the apartment slowly, drinking the thermos of coffee Ian had offered him this morning. She was still asleep, and looked so peaceful. He wanted to go kiss her, and tell her how much he loved her, but something was different now. So instead he went to the bathroom for a cold shower to try and get this headache to go away before his kickboxing class.  
  
The sound of the water slowly woke her up, and she looked over to see his side of the bed hadn't been slept in. She started to sit up, and then it hit her-morning sickness had begun.  
  
"Are you ok?' he asked peeking around the shower curtain.  
  
"I'm fine, don't mind me," she said as she slowly got up off the bathroom floor, and went to the kitchen for a glass of juice. When he came back in she was back under the covers sitting up in the bed looking at a magazine, "What are you planning on doing today?" she said without looking up. She thought if she looked into his eyes she'd burst into tears.  
  
"I've got a kickboxing class in an hour," he said sitting down next to her on the bed. "But I'll cancel if it you want me to."  
  
"No, we've cancelled enough classes. If we cancel anymore then we might as well go out of business," she said still not wanting to look at him.  
  
"Hey, look at me," he said moving her head up to his. "I'm sorry I was out all night, ok? I just needed some time to get away. But now I'm here," he said going in for a kiss, but something was causing him to not kiss her.  
  
"See, you won't even kiss me," she said getting out of the bed. "I know you can't forgive me now, and I wonder if you ever will. What I did was horrid, and wrong-and-and-Why do you want to be in the same room with me right now?"  
  
"Because you're my wife. No matter what happened, you are still my wife."  
  
"So? That doesn't mean much."  
  
"You said it yourself, you know it's going to take time for me to get over this. It's not like a day is going to pass, and I'm going to be all fine and dandy with you sleeping with Caleb. Come on, Alison-give me some time."  
  
"Fine, take all the time you want. Maybe it would be better if you just left," she said opening the door.  
  
-----------  
  
Livvie stretched her arms over the silk sheets as some sunlight shined into the room on her. She opened her eyes and saw Caleb standing over the bed, "Good morning," she said shortly.  
  
"Where were you last night? I got back from practice and you weren't home," he said buttoning his shirt.  
  
"I went out. Sorry I got in so late-I was enjoying watching Rafe act like an idiot."  
  
"Really? Want to share?"  
  
"Oh, I was at the Elixir. He was drowning his sorrows," she said getting up. "I understand him though, more than I ever thought I would."  
  
"Can we please drop that subject?" he said rolling his eyes.  
  
"No, we can't. You slept with Alison, you admitted knowing what you were doing earlier to me. And it was all to get back at me, Rafe, and Alison. There were a lot of better ways to get back at us than that way," she said while getting dressed for the day.  
  
"Well, sweetheart," he said pulling her face up to his, "You should have never betrayed me," then walked to the door and left-leaving her standing there frustrated.  
  
-------  
  
"When did Rafe leave?" asked Lucy as she walked into the living room to where Ian was enjoying some time with his son.  
  
"I guess an hour ago. I gave him a thermos of coffee for the road."  
  
"Yeah, from the way you were talking last night he needed it. You think that him and Alison will get back on the right track?"  
  
"Well, if he doesn't stop drowning his sorrows like he did last night, then I'll say no. But I'm sure they will-they always do, don't they?"  
  
"You're right. You're always right," she laughed. "It's just this time it was worse than anything from before. This time it was Caleb sleeping with Alison," she said with a shiver. "Maybe I should go talk to Rafe. Yeah, that's what I'll do," she said as she turned to go get dressed.  
  
He hopped up off the couch, and turned her around, "No, woman. If he needs to talk, he'll talk-and I'm sure he'll be over for a visit soon enough."  
  
"You know something, don't you? You and Rafe had a conversation last night that you aren't telling me," she said as a grin appeared on his face.  
  
-----------  
  
He rubbed his eyes, as she continued to stand next to the open door, "Close the door Alison."  
  
"Why should I? You say you love me then love me enough to--," she was unable to finish as she fell to the floor.  
  
"Alison," he said trying to wake her up. "Alison, look at me sweetie. Come on, open your eyes."  
  
"Rafe," she said softly.  
  
"Hey, you are stressing yourself out too much. Let's get you in bed," he said picking her up and putting her back in the bed, and pulling the covers over her. "You've got to calm down. This can't be good for the baby," he said running his hands through her hair. He looked at his watch, he needed to get downstairs for the class. "I've got a class to go to, but I'm going to have Ian come over and keep you company. Alright?" he said kissing her head and heading to the door. Right before he closed the door he looked in again, "I love you."  
  
"I love you too."  
  
---------  
  
"Back so soon?" asked Jack as he saw Livvie walk in. "I don't think you'll get to see a good drunk show for ten hours, but you're welcome to stay around until then."  
  
"No, I'm not up for that. Just wanted to get something to eat. Have you seen Alison around today?"  
  
"Not yet. Don't tell me you're going to rub it in her face that she shouldn't have had the party?"  
  
"No, nothing like that. Was just wondering how she's handling everything, that's all," she said as Jack handed her a water. She saw his eyes drift past her, and she turned around to see a brunette walking in.  
  
"Hi. I was wondering if you could tell me where I might find Rafe Kovich?" asked the little thing with a European accent.  
  
"Yeah. Can I ask how you know him first?" questioned Jack, and wanted to tell Livvie to retract the claws.  
  
"My name is Karissa, and I am a friend of his from back home. I heard he was living here, and wanted to say hi."  
  
"I can take you," smiled Livvie, who was going to take the opportunity to see Alison.  
  
----------  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," laughed Ian as he walked away from Lucy.  
  
"You know what? You are a horrible liar."  
  
"Oh yeah?"  
  
"Yeah, you are."  
  
He was trying to come back with a response when the phone rang, "Hello, hey Rafe," he said as Lucy ran over to him wanting to talk to her cousin.  
  
"Hey. Alison isn't feeling good. Can you come by and take a look at her?"  
  
"Sure, I'll be over in a bit."  
  
"Thanks man." Ian hung up the phone and grabbed a jacket.  
  
"Where are you going?" asked Lucy with her arms crossed.  
  
"Rafe just wants me to see Alison real quick. I'll be back," he said giving her a kiss.  
  
"You better because I'm not finished with this conversation," she said as he gave out a laugh before leaving.  
  
------  
  
He walked up to the door, trying to think about whether he should knock or not. He finally gave in and gave a knock. "Come in," he heard from the other side.  
  
"I'm glad you are here Ian--," she said turning over on the bed and realizing it was Caleb that had just entered and not Ian. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"I just wanted to make sure you, and my child were doing ok," he said walking up to her, and placing his hand on her belly.  
  
"This is not your baby!" she yelled. "Rafe! Rafe!" she screamed as the door was still open. 


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: The Mouse owns everything.  
  
A/N: Glad you liked the last chapter. I want to say though it may seem as Rafe is forgiving Alison, he still has a lot of feelings he needs to get out before our couple can return to Happyville. So hang on, enjoy the ride, and don't kill me ;) Until next time-ya'll are the best-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"This is his business," said Livvie as she showed Karissa around. On the walk over Livvie felt like she had met this girl before, but it must just be the presence of someone else who was from Transylvania that was making her think that.  
  
"Wow. I'm impressed," she said.  
  
Livvie was going to continue talking when she heard Alison's screams. "I'll be right back," she said as she ran up the steps without thinking. As she got to the room she saw him standing over Alison, who was lying in the bed, "Caleb! What are you doing here?"  
  
"Couldn't I ask you the same question?" he said turning around to face his wife.  
  
"Someone had asked where the gym was, and I walked them over here. I was trying to be nice. Now answer my question."  
  
"Alright, Alison, how are you feeling now?" said Ian as he walked in and saw everyone being there.  
  
"Everyone except Ian out-NOW!" she yelled, getting stressed again.  
  
After closing the door Livvie looked at him, "You sent for Karissa, didn't you? This is just more of your plan."  
  
"I don't know what you are talking about, dear Olivia," he said with a smirk on his face as he decided to head back to the apartment  
  
-------  
  
"Alright, see you next week," said Rafe to a patron from the class. He was ready to go see how Alison was doing when he saw the female standing near the entrance of the gym. "Karissa?" he said in shock.  
  
"Hi Rafe," she said giving him a hug. "This place is amazing."  
  
"Thanks. So what brings you here anyways?" he said, as he looked at her. There was something different from the last time he saw her, but of course thirteen years could change a person immensely, it had after all changed him.  
  
"I-I'm here on business. I'll be in town for a bit," she said giving a sly smile.  
  
"Well, I've got to go make sure my wife is feeling well. Hope to see you around," he said giving her a smile before heading upstairs.  
  
--------  
  
"Just answer my question," she said slamming the door to the apartment. "Did you pay Karissa to come to this town? I mean, come on-everyone thinks he's deader than Elvis, how did she know he was alive in this town?"  
  
"I don't know. Maybe the girl hired a PI or something. Maybe she has physic powers," he said waving his hands in front of her face. "Or maybe it's possible that she was in the area and saw an announcement for his marriage to Alison."  
  
She grabbed his hands, "You don't want this war to end, do you? You really enjoy making all of us suffer. Well, here's what I think about your manipulation," she said walking back out and slamming the door.  
  
"You'll be back, Olivia, you always come back to me," he said with a grin as he sat down on the couch with a drink.  
  
-------  
  
She looked over at the clock, it was 11 am. How could she have slept so late she wondered, and then remembered the dream she had. It wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare. She had thought after all those years those days would be behind her, but they weren't. Now that she was awake she could hear his words in her ears, "Your mother doesn't love you, that's why she dumped you on us, and I for sure don't care about you. You realize that you will never be loved by anyone, don't you?" There was a message on her cell phone, but it could wait-it was late in the morning, and her stomach was growling.  
  
-------  
  
"How are you feeling now?" he asked sitting down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Much better. How was class?"  
  
"It was good. I had some people stop afterwards and give their congratulations to us both," he said smiling.  
  
"How thoughtful."  
  
"Well, I'll let you two go for now. Alison, try and keep the visitors to a minimum, at least for a few days."  
  
"Alright, I will. Thanks again, Ian."  
  
"What did he mean by visitors?"  
  
"Oh, you're going to love this," she said rolling her eyes. "There was a knock on the door. I thought it was Ian and told him to come in. It wasn't Ian-it was Caleb. He wanted to make sure his child was ok. I started screaming your name as loud as I could."  
  
"Is that when Ian showed up?"  
  
"No, that's when Livvie showed up. She started yelling at Caleb, then Ian came in. I told the other two to get out."  
  
"Wonder what Livvie was doing here?"  
  
"I don't know, but she wasn't expecting to see him here."  
  
"Well, we're all getting visitors," he said as he decided to join her on the bed.  
  
"Who else showed up?"  
  
"An old friend from Transylvania, that's all," he said pulling her into his arms until she fell asleep. 


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: In a galaxy far far away, I own PC, but not this galaxy-that's for sure.  
  
A/N: Now why would people not be trusting Karissa? You all are starting to sound like Livvie, and that's scary. LOL. Until next time-ya'll are the best-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
She sat in the restaurant with a bowl of fruit in front of her as she read the newspaper. She had asked if they could give her a United States newspaper, so she could keep up with what was going on. As she read through the fashion section she heard someone say her name. Looking up she just smiled, and went back to the paper.  
  
"How are you doing this morning?" asked Melanie as she held the arm of her husband. "Clark, I'd like you to meet my cousin Elizabeth."  
  
"Pleased to meet you," he said. Elizabeth could immediately tell he was British-which explained what Melanie was doing here. "Same here," she said looking up with a smile.  
  
"You remember me telling you about Elizabeth, don't you? Of course, we called her Loveless Lizzy then," she said with a giggle. "Her mom dropped her off on our doorstep one night, saying she could care less where the girl ended up. I guess the name stuck, eh Lizzy? She's never found love, even her husband faked his own death to get away from her."  
  
"How very sad."  
  
"Well, we must be going. Please come by for dinner one night," said Melanie with a smirk as she walked off.  
  
Elizabeth just sat there, staring off into space until the waiter came to ask her if everything was alright, "Actually, could you have this sent up to my room?" she said as she got up and decided to go back to the room for a bit.  
  
---------  
  
"I really should give you a job here if you're going to keep showing up like this."  
  
"Ha ha, Jack."  
  
"Aren't newlyweds usually with their spouses-not their ex's?"  
  
"He's up to something Jack. This is big, and I don't like it."  
  
"Alright, off the Caleb subject. Did you get Karissa over to the gym ok?"  
  
"Yeah, when I got there Rafe still had a class going. All of a sudden I heard Alison screaming his name. It was loud enough for me to hear it in the gym."  
  
"Was everything ok?"  
  
"No. Caleb was standing over her bed, but Ian showed up and we both left. I think he paid off Karissa to come here."  
  
"Sounds like something he would do."  
  
"So what are we going to do about her?" she said as she tapped her water bottle on the bar.  
  
---------  
  
"Let's see what we have now," said Chris as he sat down in his chair and peered into the microscope. He had been home for only ten minutes, but was ready to get busy on research again. "Sure is quiet," he said, realizing that working with noise was better than nothing at all. "Well, we'll just turn on some music," he said flipping the button on the radio to hear some Jazz music come over.  
  
He then went back to work, not hearing the footsteps behind him. The next thing he knew his hands were being covered by a pair of hands, "Elizabeth?" he said smiling. "Didn't know you had come back to town yet. Let me get this done, and we'll make dinner later, ok?" he said as the hands came off of his eyes. Turning around the smile on his face left when he saw Iris standing behind him.  
  
----------  
  
"I've been expecting you," said Caleb as he opened the door and had her walk in.  
  
"You were right, he is alive. Do you want to explain that to me?" asked Karissa as she sat on the couch.  
  
"It's a long story, and anyways that's not why I paid for you to fly out here. You are here to make him fall in love with you."  
  
"You know who I really want though?" she said getting back up, and walking over to him. She got her mouth to his ear, and whispered, "I want you."  
  
---------  
  
"Livvie, I am going to do nothing about the problem."  
  
"Jack, do you really want to see them break up?"  
  
"No, I don't. But Rafe is a smart guy, if he has an idea that Karissa is working with Caleb he'll call both of them on it."  
  
"Alison made Rafe promise the war was over. So if he does realize what's going on, who's to say that he's going to do anything about it?"  
  
"Are you more worried about Karissa breaking up Rafe and Alison, or Alison breaking up you and Caleb?"  
  
Livvie didn't say anything, just sat there, playing with the edge of her napkin.  
  
---------  
  
"Hello, Chris," she said with a smile stretching across her face.  
  
"Iris, uhm hi. Are you done with the clothing for the day?"  
  
"Well, yes I am," she said as she propped herself up on his table in front of him.  
  
"Well, then what do you say you just mosey on out of here. I'll see you tomorrow?"  
  
"Actually, I was hoping that dinner date you just mentioned was good for me too."  
  
"Sorry, I thought you were Elizabeth earlier. How did you get in here anyways?"  
  
"She gave me a key, for when she would be late and you weren't here."  
  
"Ahhh. Well, it was lovely to see you," he said getting out of the chair and beginning to escort her to the door. "Ta," he said closing the door. He looked around and saw a table and moved it in front of the door to make sure she didn't try and use her key again.  
  
--------  
  
"Sweet Karissa," Caleb said pulling her away from him. "You are definitely a jewel, but I can't take you as my bride. I'm already married, remember?"  
  
"I know, it's just--," she said stopping and turning around.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"It's just he's so-plain."  
  
Caleb had to laugh, this girl was definitely smart, as well as sexy, "You only have to play with his emotions. Now, I need you to leave, but first-- ," he said giving her a kiss, then sending her on her way.  
  
---------  
  
"Are you going to answer me or not?" inquired Jack, as Livvie just kept playing with her napkin.  
  
"It's not that I think she's going to ruin our marriage. It's just that sometimes she only thinks about herself."  
  
"Sounds like someone else I know," he said as the phone began to ring. After the conversation he went back to Livvie, "I've got to go. Oh, and yesterday when you and Alison were acting friendly was actually nice to see- try not to ruin that moment."  
  
----------  
  
He stood in the shadow of the stairwell and waited. The waiting didn't take long though, only five minutes or so. When he was past the stairwell he stepped out and called him, "Caleb, we need to talk."  
  
"Nice to see you've tried a new way of doing things. I never realized you were so sneaky as to wait for a man to leave his house. Oh wait, you already did that when you decided to visit Hell."  
  
"You know what, you can go on thinking whatever you want. You can even think this baby Alison is carrying is yours, but we both know the truth- it's my child and you will never have a family. Not through Alison, not through Olivia-never."  
  
"That hurts slayer," he said putting his hand over his heart to mock the man that stood before him. "But let me ask you this, do you think this child is yours? I mean if she was so willing to sleep with me, then who's to say she didn't sleep with-say Jack or possibly Jamal. She was after all, about to sleep with Joshua the night we came in and finished him off."  
  
"Nice try, fang-boy, but it's not going to work. So I am going to ask you one last time-stay away from my wife and child. Because if you don't listen to me this time you'll regret it."  
  
"What are you going to do? You can't kill me, remember?"  
  
"I can kill something else precious to you-Olivia. And right now, as Alison is pregnant with a slayer you can't kill her. So, now you can go crawl under that rock you were going to-or wherever you bloodsuckers live now-and- days."  
  
-----------  
  
"Coming!" yelled Chris, as he heard the knock on the door. "Hold on, Jack," as he pushed the table out of the way.  
  
"What were you doing just then, moving a table?" he said as the door opened.  
  
"Well, yeah. That's why I need your help. I've got this woman who's been hitting on me lately."  
  
"Elizabeth?"  
  
"No, no-I wish it was her. It's Iris."  
  
"Who is Iris?"  
  
"A woman old enough to be our mother, Jack," he said as Jack started laughing. "I'm serious! This is a very difficult dilemma."  
  
"I'm not exactly a hit man or anything now. What do you want me to do?" he said sitting down, and trying his hardest to be serious.  
  
"Try and show her what a jerk I am, you are good at that, little bro'."  
  
"Yeah, I am. So when will I meet this fine lady?"  
  
"There's nothing fine about her, trust me." 


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: As of 2:44 pm on November 20, 2003 I do not own anything, ABC/Disney does.  
  
A/N: Yes, both of you are sounding like a paranoid Livvie. It's ok, if I was reading this I would be paranoid about Karissa too. Just wait until you see what she (Karissa) has up her sleeve in a few chapters. Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Jack couldn't believe he was doing this, but hey-anything for family, right? He had called Frank who said he'd go over and open up the Elixir after dropping off Neil at school. It was 8 am, and Chris had already left for work. Now he just had to sit and wait for her to come in. He went to the kitchen for some coffee, and when coming back in saw she was just walking in, "Hi," he said waving and then taking a sip of coffee. "You must be Iris," he said, taking her hand and kissing it. "I'm Chris' brother. He wanted me to come by for some stuff. I'll be out of your way soon."  
  
"That's no problem," she said hanging up her coat in the closet.  
  
"So what do you think of him anyways?"  
  
"Who, Chris? Oh he's such a charmer, and he has the greatest sense of humor."  
  
Jack wanted to start laughing again, but took another sip of coffee to ease himself back into the role he was playing today. "Well, he has another side, I hate to tell you. I mean he can be a real jerk. Look at me, he gave me away when I was a child. Never cared about anyone but himself, that's my brother."  
  
"My son is like that."  
  
"Really? How old is he?"  
  
"He's 32."  
  
"You realize that's the same age as Chris, right?"  
  
"Yeah, but age doesn't matter when you are in love," she said as she walked off to the sewing room, leaving Jack standing there wondering what this woman was smoking.  
  
---------  
  
Elizabeth sat down on the bed with her bowl of fruit in her hand, "Poor Lizzy. Poor, poor Lizzy. Can I ever get that woman out of my life?" she grumbled. She remembered she had a message, and decided to check it. When she heard Chris' message she put down her bowl, and started packing-her daughter needed her, and that mattered more than anything else.  
  
--------  
  
He had been sitting on the fence for probably an hour now. He actually wondered what still pulled him here, because right now he really wished he had a lighter, or a match-something to destroy the physical place that had meant so much to him. No wonder she didn't want to get married here. He closed his eyes to try and relax when he heard movement, "Who's there?" he said defensively.  
  
"Just me," called Casey as she walked over to where he was. "Thought you might want this," she said tossing him a baseball.  
  
"You want to play a game of catch?" he laughed, a half smile appearing on his face for the first time all day.  
  
"No, I want you to throw it at the barn. Just don't try and break anything."  
  
"You came all the way out here to give me this?"  
  
"Well, if you are up to it-I'd like some advice, you know one angel to another," she said as she waited for his response.  
  
"You are still an angel?"  
  
"Yeah, I think so. I mean the other day I was freaking out over Caleb, and he was going to go find Ricky and I just snapped my fingers and got Ricky out of harms way. Should I still be able to do that as a human?"  
  
"You shouldn't, but I still can-it has to relate to Alison though. So are you enjoying human life again?" he said as he tossed the baseball against the barn and caught it as it came back.  
  
"Yeah, but sometimes I miss it up there. I miss being able to know what is coming and helping others try and avoid the bad. If you knew what was going to happen this past year, would you have still wanted to become human again?"  
  
---------  
  
"Don't talk to me unless you got that woman to stop hitting on me," said Chris as he saw Jack walk up to him at the hospital. He finally looked up at Jack who had the biggest smile on his face. "Good grief."  
  
"I'm sorry Chris. I really tried. I've spent the past hour over there talking to her, and she's not going to budge. You are," he said as he took a deep breath and got a serious look on his face, "her soul mate," then started to laugh.  
  
"Stop laughing," he said slamming his hand down.  
  
"What's got you all uptight, Ramsey?" said Ian as he walked up beside him. "Elizabeth get back and not talk to you? Not that that would be a bad thing."  
  
"No, nothing like that."  
  
"Well, I've got a business to run," said Jack as he walked over to the elevator and pushed the down button.  
  
"Thanks for nothing, Jack!" he said as Jack's elevator opened up.  
  
"Love you too, Chris," he said stepping onto the elevator.  
  
---------  
  
He was caught off guard by the question. A lot had happened since he'd been back-would it have been better for Alison had he never returned? He just looked at Casey, and then went back to throwing the baseball.  
  
"Alright, I'm going to go. Take it easy, Rafe," she said as she left him alone.  
  
After she left he threw the ball, and it didn't make it back to him. As he went to go get the ball he heard a noise again, "What's up, Casey?" he said as he turned around and didn't see anyone there. "Casey, come out now," he said as he kept hearing the noise. "Fine, catch this!" he said throwing the ball in the direction of the noise.  
  
"Ouch, that hurt," said Alison as she walked out from the bushes and threw the ball back to him.  
  
-------  
  
She was almost to the front desk to check out when she saw Melanie walking towards her, "What do you want?" she sighed as she continued walking.  
  
"Just wanted to see where you were going, that's all. You aren't going home so early-are you?"  
  
"In fact, I am. My daughter needs me, and she's all that matters to me. So will you please MOVE!" she said screaming and making a scene of herself. Just then she heard Malcolm's voice behind her.  
  
"Elizabeth, I'm glad I caught you. You aren't going to leave today, are you? I was just coming by to talk to you about the divorce."  
  
"Malcolm, as long as I get a divorce from one of my husbands, I don't care. You can have everything, it doesn't bother me. I've got to get to Alison."  
  
"Is something wrong?" he said, looking serious.  
  
"She's got some marriage problems. I'm not sure what it is, but I want to be there for her."  
  
"Why bother?" interrupted Melanie, "You never were there any other time- were you?"  
  
"Was I talking to you?" she snapped.  
  
"Listen, we can get the divorce stuff over in a few days, and then you can go home. I promise," he said as she turned around and went back to her room.  
  
-------  
  
"Sorry, thought you were Casey again. What are you doing here?"  
  
"Not sure, just kind of got drawn here," she said as she began to walk around. "Can't go in there now, can you?" she said looking at the door.  
  
"Nope," he said tossing the ball back to her.  
  
"Are you ready to talk?" she said as they began to play catch outside the barn door.  
  
"No time like the present. Of course, the present in this instance was over a month ago-wasn't it?"  
  
"Rafe--."  
  
"Fine, we'll talk. I guess I can take some responsibility. It happened the night I went to hell, didn't it?"  
  
"Yeah, and I was scared out of my mind. I actually tried to get to hell also. I was that desperate."  
  
"Desperate enough to sleep with him?"  
  
"Before, when I was under Joshua's control you kept saying to me that I didn't know what I was doing. This is the same thing--I was under someone else's control again. Why can't you see that?" she said, throwing the ball harder.  
  
"Why can't I see that? Because this is completely different. Before you were being held captive, and couldn't leave. You could have left the barn the second he came here, but you didn't. You kept asking for his help. When Livvie made that wish you should have been long gone, but instead you were still there-trusting him like always, and then you slept with my worst enemy," he screamed throwing the ball so hard, she had to duck from being hit.  
  
"I didn't have a choice!" she yelled back at him, grabbing the ball and flinging it towards him-hitting him right in the shoulder 


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: Je ne possède pas Charles de Port.  
  
A/N: The disclaimer is in French today. Thought I'd try something different. So what have we learned from the last chapter? Well, Gracie is, without a doubt, not paranoid. And Nat started to have flashbacks of a certain Barn scene that will remain nameless. LOL-sorry bout that Nat. Until next time-Ya'll are the best-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
She had calmed herself down some on the drive over, and now she could finally begin to breathe once more. Her stress level was high-probably higher than it should be. But of course, could anyone blame her. Ever since that night her life had been chaos, except for when they were in Australia. Just a month ago they were standing on a deck of a dinner ship watching the sunset. She took a deep breath, "Please be here. Please be here," she said as she rang the doorbell.  
  
"Alison," said Ian as he opened the door. "Is everything ok?"  
  
"No, it's not. Is Lucy here? I really need to talk to her," she said very quickly.  
  
"She went out shopping with Christina. I can call her, and I'm sure she'll come back. Do you want to talk about it?"  
  
"Don't bother her. Her and Christina need to have bonding time. That's what mother's are supposed to be for, having fun and spending time together," she said, angry that she hadn't been able to get a hold of her mom lately.  
  
"Well, sit down and I'll be a listening ear," he said as she sat on the couch. "Now what's wrong?"  
  
"It's Rafe."  
  
--------  
  
"Daddy!" squealed Christina as she came running into the lighthouse and onto his lap.  
  
"Look at my big girl. What are you up to today?"  
  
"Mommy and me are going shopping."  
  
"Well, that sounds like a lot of fun. Hey, if you go into the kitchen I bet you'll find some Halloween candy. If it's ok with your mom you can have some."  
  
She looked up at Lucy with those big eyes, "Yes, pumpkinhead, but you can only have two pieces, ok?" she said as her daughter went running back to the kitchen. "How are you doing lately?"  
  
"I'm managing, but I think I'm going to have a houseguest soon."  
  
"Really? Are you sure you're up to it? Will they be able to help you with your therapy?"  
  
"Yes, I'm up to it Lucy. It's going to be Livvie."  
  
-------  
  
"What are your plans for today?" asked Livvie as she bounded into Jack's house.  
  
"Nothing for a few hours. Frank is watching the bar until Neil gets home from school, and then I'll go over and close the place down. Why?"  
  
"Because I need your help. Come on, I have all the wires and stuff in the back of the car, and we don't have much time," she said grabbing his hand and trying to pull him to the door.  
  
"Wires? For what?"  
  
"We're going to bug the loft to prove that Karissa and Caleb are working together."  
  
"Uhm, no we're not," he said as he yanked his hand back out of her grasp.  
  
-------  
  
"Hold on," he said grabbing her wrist and checking her pulse. "Lay down," he said as he went to the kitchen. When he came back she was lying on the couch, with a pillow under her head.  
  
"Is everything ok?" she asked, as he handed her a glass of water.  
  
"Your heart rate is through the roof. I want you to lie down, and sit here until you feel better. Now, slowly and calmly tell me what happened today."  
  
"I went over to the barn. I don't know what caused me to do that, but I did. When I got there, Rafe was already there. He had found a baseball and we started playing catch," she said as she stopped to breathe.  
  
"Ok. Do you want to go on?"  
  
"Yeah, just give me a second. So we then started talking, I thought it would be good for both of us to get everything off our chests. He holds me completely responsible for what happened, Ian," she said as she began to cry. "I keep telling everyone I didn't know what I was doing, and everyone seems to believe me, except for him."  
  
"It takes a lot to admit fault, Alison. But it takes even more to forgive. I know if something like that ever happened with me it would take a long time for me to forgive. You and Rafe are going to get through this, but listen to me when I say you have got to take your stress level way down. It's dangerous for you and the baby."  
  
"Alright," she said giving him a smile.  
  
------  
  
"Livvie? No, you can't have her move in here," she said firmly, as if she still had a part in his life.  
  
"Why not Lucy? She's under a lot of stress with Caleb right now, and maybe if she moves away from him she'll finally want to be rid of him for good. Is that such a bad thing?"  
  
"Yes, it's a horrible thing. Kevin, she is nothing but poison to anyone, and she'll probably poison you also."  
  
"Are you telling me that if Serena had a few bumps in the road of life you would turn your back on her?"  
  
"No," she said with her head down, "But Livvie's road of life resembles the Andes Mountains right now. She can't be any help is all I'm saying."  
  
"Lucy, you aren't married to me anymore, you can't tell me what to do-so if I want to reach out to my daughter then you are just going to have to accept that. You know what Lucy, maybe you and Christina should get on with that shopping trip you were going to take," he said, as he was ready for her to leave now.  
  
--------  
  
"Jack, it's the perfect plan," she pleaded.  
  
"Yeah, and like all your other ones, it's going to backfire in your face. Trust me, we did this before with Rafe and Tess was barely able to keep Caleb from killing everyone in town. Even you don't have that much of a hold on him from doing it twice."  
  
"But see that was Rafe, and I can do this better than him. Caleb's doing auditions right now for the next two hours, we can set this up in that time. I already bought the stuff."  
  
"Fine, where are the monitors going to be?" he asked as she walked outside the door for a second. As she came back in she was holding one of the monitors, "Here," she said with a smile.  
  
--------  
  
"Alison!" called Rafe as he walked into the apartment. "I know you are here, the car was outside. Hey, come out and talk," he said as he kept walking around trying to find her. He stopped his search for a minute to get an icepack for his shoulder-for a girl that never played sports she sure did have a good arm. He looked and saw her come into the apartment, "Hey, where were you just now?"  
  
"I had taken some fresh towels downstairs. Before that I tried to call my mother-of course she didn't answer. I guess she's gone back to her old ways, it's not like I expected her to stay like that forever," she sighed. She had hoped her mother had changed somehow in the past year, and had gotten her hopes up that she would be a part of her grandchild's life, but that was definitely not looking like the case now.  
  
"Yeah, well, it'll be ok. You've grown up without her most of your life," he said as he rubbed his shoulder.  
  
"How bad did I hit you?" she asked coming over to where he was.  
  
"Pretty good shot there," he said letting her have a peek.  
  
"I went over to talk to Lucy earlier, but she wasn't there. Ian and I had a chat instead. Are we ever going to be able to be back to where we were before?"  
  
"We will," he said giving her a kiss. "It's just going to take some time, that's all."  
  
---------  
  
"I cannot believe I let you talk me into this," said Jack as he stood on top of a chair to rig up the video camera.  
  
"It's because you still have a thing for me," teased Livvie as she stood below him, her hands resting in her back pockets of her jeans.  
  
"Don't make me laugh because I might fall off this chair. I really don't feel like being vampire food tonight," he said as he finished up the wiring. "Alright now all we have to do is go back to my place and see if it works. Do you want to come with me?" he asked as he got off the chair.  
  
"No, I'm going to stay here. Call when you get there and turn on the monitors," she said giving him a kiss on the cheek, "Thank you for doing this, Jack."  
  
"I just hope I don't regret it later," he said leaving, knowing he was probably going to be seeing more of Livvie than he wanted.  
  
---------  
  
"Was that Alison I just saw driving down the road?" asked Lucy as she came in with Christina.  
  
"Yeah. Where are the shopping bags?"  
  
"We didn't go shopping. I thought going and seeing Kevin would be nicer, but it wasn't. He's about to get himself in a whole bunch of trouble and he won't listen to me at all."  
  
"Well, he doesn't have to since you aren't married anymore."  
  
"Thought you would be a little more comforting in my time of need," she said as she came over to him and slipped her arms around his chest and looked up at him. "So what did Alison want?"  
  
"Rafe's about to explode, and I'm scared that when he does it's going to put Alison in the hospital," he said as he held Lucy tight, wondering if there was anything he could do to stop him. 


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: [insert disclaimer here]  
  
A/N: Melody-I figured you were busy with work this week. Sorry I was putting the chapters out faster than you could read them. Hmmm..paternity in question? Well, there's an original concept for a soap ;) But never fear, it's not an issue here (eek-I made a rhyme) Gracie-I'm trying not to make this all about redeeming Livvie, but deep inside her is still Tess.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Elizabeth walked up to the door ready to sign the papers and leave this country all together. Her bags were at the hotel room completely packed, and though she hadn't bought a ticket for a plane yet, she knew the next one left in four hours. Then it was home to her baby, Alison had sounded so frantic the other day when she left a message, and she could have kicked herself for letting the battery on her phone die. She knocked on the door and was pleased that Malcolm answered, "I take it your lawyer is here with the paperwork?" she said walking in like she owned the place and tossing her purse on the entry way table.  
  
"Elizabeth, I'm so sorry. I meant to call you last night, he's out of town for a few days."  
  
"What do you mean he's out of town? Malcolm, I am a very busy and very much needed woman in Port Charles, and I have to get home immediately."  
  
"Let me go call him, and see if he can come back earlier," he said leaving for his study.  
  
------  
  
"Explain to me why I'm here at 7 am," said Jack as he walked in with a coffee in his hand. It was too early for this, but Chris had insisted last night he come over.  
  
"Because you are going to help me in the final phase of Operation: Lose Iris."  
  
"And how are we going to do that?"  
  
"With this," said Chris as he held up a red sequin dress.  
  
"Excuse me? There is no way I'm helping you get into that. Besides, it looks too small for you. I think it's more my size," he said as the realization of what Chris was about to do to him. "No you don't. There is no way I'm wearing that thing. Besides-my hair is obvious."  
  
"Figured you'd say that, so I bought this for you too," he said as he plucked a curly blonde wig out and put it on Jack's head. Oh Jackie, you are so beautiful," he said, acting like he was about to cry. "Anyways, get this on, she'll probably be here any minute," he said shoving the dress into Jack's arms.  
  
A few minutes later he came out wearing the dress and wig to see Chris had pulled out a blanket and covered himself on the couch, "What's next?"  
  
"Come here, lover," said Chris as he pulled back the blanket to show he was wearing all his clothes still. Just then they heard a knock on the door, so Jack didn't get a chance to argue lying next to his brother on the couch. "Come in," called Chris, hoping the door was unlocked.  
  
"Hey, Ramsey. I know we don't have to be at the hospital for another hour, but thought I'd come by and see how the vampire-serum was doing," said Ian as he walked in. "Oh, excuse me," he said as he backed out the door again.  
  
"It's just me," said Jack, whose face now matched the color of the dress.  
  
"This is so wrong on so many different levels," said Ian who was still thinking of backing out the door and acting like he never saw anything.  
  
-------  
  
He was finishing up his morning jog when he saw her sitting on the bench, "Hey Karissa," he said with a smile. It was going to take him awhile, but he was definitely going to get used to seeing her around again.  
  
"Oh hey, Rafe," she said glad she had the chance to do what she had been paid to do. "You are out early. I don't remember you being a morning person before."  
  
"Are you serious? I've always been one up with the sun. Now you on the other hand," he said with a laugh.  
  
"Yeah, well I've got a meeting in a bit to go to."  
  
"Really what do you do now anyways?"  
  
"Oh, the same thing my father did."  
  
"I can't see you working in banking. Do you want to get a cup of coffee?" he said as they started to walk.  
  
"What are you talking about? My father wasn't in banking," she said giving him a strange look. "I'll have a coffee with cream," she said to the vendor.  
  
Rafe just looked at her, I could have sworn her father was in banking, he thought to himself. "So what is it you do then?"  
  
"I'm in business. I've opened this cute little Bed and Breakfast back home, you should come visit it sometime. I'm sure Alison would like it, you might too," she said giving an evil smile.  
  
--------  
  
"Very busy woman, eh?" laughed Reese as Elizabeth walked to the living room, and plopped down in the chair.  
  
"Well, you know I have to make myself sound bigger than I am," she said with a smile. "I'm surprised you are still here too."  
  
"Well, there's not much left for me in Port Charles. Not much here either," she said looking around the room. She had been living with her parents for a few weeks now, and honestly it just didn't feel right. She felt she had to make sure to get nothing on the white furniture or the white carpet that lined the floors. Who has white furniture anyways?  
  
"You could always create a relationship with Alison, or with Mother Barrington," she said, getting a laugh for a response. Just then Malcolm came back out, "Will he come back early?" she asked standing up.  
  
"Yes, he will be back on Friday. Will that do?" he asked.  
  
"I suppose. See you on Friday, Reese," she said giving her a smile as she went to collect her purse and leave.  
  
-------  
  
"It's not what you think. We're trying to get rid of Iris," said Chris as he sat up. "What are you doing here anyways?"  
  
"I thought you'd been busy lately working on the vampire serum. Didn't realize you were busy with something else," he chuckled. "Whatever you two want to do though is fine by me."  
  
Just then they heard a key in the apartment door, and Chris motioned for Ian to go to the kitchen to hide. Chris and Jack then took their places again, and as the door opened a desperate Chris laid a kiss on his brother.  
  
"Chris, I hope you don't mind I came a little early. I brought you some muffins I made last night also," said Iris as she walked in on what looked like to her Chris making out on the couch with a blonde.  
  
"Iris," said a shocked Chris as he got up and threw the blanket over Jack's head.  
  
"Well, I guess you don't care for me at all," she said as tears started to fill her eyes. "And to think I baked you muffins," she said throwing the bag at him and running out of the apartment in tears.  
  
Chris walked over to the door, making sure it was locked. "Alright you two, come out of your hiding places," he said to Jack and Ian. Ian walked around the corner slowly clapping for the lovely performance he just saw, "Can we get down to business now?" he asked.  
  
"And can we never speak of this again?"  
  
"I can promise one, but not both," said Chris who was then attacked by a wig.  
  
-------  
  
Reese was walking back to her room, and saw the door was cracked to Malcolm's study. She stopped for just a second to listen. He seemed to be having a very heated discussion on the phone, "What are you up to?" she said softly as she leaned against the wall and overheard.  
  
"I don't know what else you want me to do. I have to divorce her, I can't keep her here indefinitely. No, I told her the lawyer would be here on Friday. Can you set everything up by then? You know, she really seems to have created a relationship with our daughter, I hate to have that ruined. Yes, I know what I'm saying, and no I'm not crazy. Fine, I will start calling around," he said hanging up the phone.  
  
Reese just stood there, wondering what this man she barely knew was up to.  
  
--------  
  
"Yeah, she probably would," said Rafe then looking away from her.  
  
"Is everything ok with you two?"  
  
"Just a little problem, we'll get over it."  
  
"I'm sure you will, but if you ever want a shoulder to cry on," she said as she got closer to him.  
  
"Thanks, but actually you just brought up a good point," he said as he got out of her line of sight. She was coming onto him, and no matter how angry with Alison he was, he could never do that to her. "You better get to your meeting, and come to think of it-I've got someone I need to go see," he said as he smiled and went jogging back to the car, leaving Karissa standing there in the middle of the park.  
  
"So close," she smiled, as she took a sip of coffee and went to think up her next plan. 


	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I had a really good one all set up if EHP got The View job, but oh well-ABC/Disney owns PC, not me.  
  
A/N: I'm not getting into an argument over The View right now. (cough) losers (cough). So, let's see-It seems that you all are enjoying Rafe/Alison/Karissa-so maybe I'll just keep it going longer than I planned. Nah-we gotta get back to Happyville soon, I can't stand it. Gracie- actually, the red dress I was thinking of was how EHP described her sister on an episode of The View (her sister was pregnant, and they went to a black tie event and her sister wore a red strapless dress, that showed off her stomach, she said her sister looked gorgeous) Until next time-Ya'll are the best--PCGirl  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Hey," said Rafe, his head hanging down as Lucy answered the door.  
  
"Look at you," she said moving his head upwards. "A few days ago you looked so happy, and today you look like you lost your best friend," she said pulling him for a huge hug.  
  
"I feel like I have," he said as she walked him into the house and sat him down.  
  
"You want to talk about it? Because if you don't, then that's fine with me. I'm sure we can discuss non-Alison and non-Caleb things."  
  
"Talking is all I think I've been doing lately. I feel like I should be incredibly mad with her, and I am, but then I look at her and I love her so much still."  
  
"Feelings like the ones you two have for each other just don't disappear in an instant, Rafe. Trust me, I should know."  
  
"I don't want the feelings to leave, that much I know. Why didn't she tell me Lucy? I mean she had over a month to say 'Rafe, I love you-by the way, I slept with your enemy'. Yes, I would have freaked out, but at least it would have been easier."  
  
"Things like this are never easy Rafe. No matter if she told you the day after or 10 years from now, it would still be the same."  
  
"So what now?"  
  
"This is what you are going to do. You are going to go home," she said as she got up and walked over to the door, "and you are going to take her out to dinner. Perhaps the PC Grille?"  
  
"Uhm, Lucy," he said with a chuckle, "How is this going to help us get through the whole problem we are in right now?"  
  
"That's just it. When you get somewhere where it is just the two of you, nothing else is going to matter. Also, maybe you'll be less willing to throw a fit in the middle of a restaurant?"  
  
"If not, anything I break is being charged to you," he said as a smile appeared on his face. Maybe a nice dinner would help-it was at least worth a shot.  
  
------  
  
"So explain to me why we are here again?" said Alison as she sat across from Rafe.  
  
"It was Lucy's idea, and for some unknown reason I thought it might work. So why don't we enjoy ourselves," he said taking a deep breath.  
  
"Well, are we going to discuss nothing about our problem then?"  
  
"Yeah, we can. Do you want to start, or shall I?" he said taking a sip of water.  
  
"No yelling though. We wouldn't want to cause a scene," she said, beginning to smile.  
  
"Never," he laughed. "Alison, you know I love you still, right? I mean I wouldn't be sitting here with you if I didn't."  
  
"I know that, I just worry we'll never get back to where we were. That night on the boat, with the sun set, and then everything else-was so perfect, and so magical."  
  
"And we'll get the magic back," he said as he reached out and grabbed her hand.  
  
-------  
  
"Hi, Dad," said Livvie as she came into the house.  
  
"Well, hey sweetie. This is a surprise. What is the occasion?" he said giving her a hug.  
  
"I am taking you out for dinner. My treat," she said as she walked over and grabbed his coat and helped him put it on.  
  
"I'll go for that," he said, glad he had the chance to ask her to move in with him.  
  
---------  
  
"I have faith we will, but I know I hurt you. I hurt myself also. I wish I had told you what happened that night earlier."  
  
"Don't use the word wish," he sighed, thinking how that one word had started this whole mess.  
  
"Well, then don't turn around," she said as she saw Livvie come in through the doorway, then stop as she waited for whoever she was with to come in.  
  
"You know I have to now," he grinned turning around right as Kevin walked in the door. "He's doing so much better than anyone ever expected. Wonder where the bat-wonder is tonight," he said turning back around and facing his wife.  
  
"Hopefully he's not coming later," she said as they went back to talking.  
  
-------  
  
"Are you ok with them being here?" asked Kevin as he saw the look on his daughters face. He had thought she was over her hate for Alison, but now he wasn't so sure.  
  
"I'm fine, really. They deserve each other, and the other day we were talking and laughing like old times," she said with a smile as she talked about better times. "Hopefully we will keep getting closer, and maybe get some of that friendship back."  
  
"It's so great to hear you say that," he smiled. "Livvie, I wanted to talk to you about Caleb. You know if you ever feel like you need to get away from him you can live with me."  
  
"Dad, that's so thoughtful, but I really need to work things out with him- by myself. If I don't do that then," she said as she stopped in mid- sentence when Karissa walked in.  
  
"Who is that?" asked Kevin as he saw her walk over to where Rafe and Alison were sitting.  
  
"Karissa, and she's nothing but trouble," said Livvie as she sat there watching her move. There was something about this woman that she didn't like, if she could only put her finger on it.  
  
---------  
  
"Hi Rafe," said Karissa as she walked up behind him, placing her hand on the base of his neck.  
  
"Karissa, what brings you here?" he said moving so her hand got off his neck.  
  
"I was going to meet with a business associate, but I think he stood me up," she said looking around and making eye contact with Livvie. "Oh, there's the sweet girl that brought me over to your work that day. Oli- Livvie."  
  
"Yeah, Livvie," said Alison as she made her own eye contact with Livvie. "I've got to go to the powder room, excuse me," she said as she jumped up and went, with Livvie following quickly behind her. "What is going on with you tonight?" asked Alison as they stood around the corner from the dining area.  
  
"Alison, I don't like that girl. She's evil."  
  
"And you would know evil," she said with a smirk.  
  
"There's something about her."  
  
"She's a friend of Rafe's. And normally a friend of his is your enemy."  
  
"That's true. Oh well, it doesn't matter now. Let's go back in before she gets suspicious," she said, giving up the mystery of who this woman really was for the night.  
  
"Everything ok?" asked Rafe as he saw her and Livvie walk back out together.  
  
"Yeah, where'd Karissa go to?"  
  
"She didn't pass you on the way out?"  
  
"Maybe she did, and I didn't notice," she said as her attention went from Karissa and Livvie to trying to regain trust and get her marriage back on the right track. 


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: Hmmm..uhm..nope.  
  
A/N: Glad you enjoyed the last chapter, and bugs-well, I wouldn't go THAT far, Melody. LOL. What else would they to that would closer than talking. Oh yeah-that. ;) I'm wondering if I should rename this story "Karissa Must Die", because ya'll are sure hating her-I even have Gracie agreeing with Livvie. Ok, this chapter-all I have to say is don't make ME go eat a bug, please. Until next time-ya'll are the best-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Her eyes were closed, and her mind half asleep, but when she felt his weight lift off the bed she began to wake up more. She heard him go over to the dresser, and pull out clothes to wear. Where are you going, Caleb? He began to whistle-was that Naked Eyes he was whistling? He's so into himself he's whistling his own music, she thought as a sly smile came over her face. She could feel his presence come near the bed, as he leaned down and kissed her, "I'll be back soon," he whispered in her ear. She had to roll over to keep him from realizing she was awake. When she heard the door close and lock she opened her eyes, "Too bad I won't be here when you get back," she said as she jumped up to find something quick to put on and follow him.  
  
---------  
  
"Glad you could come early," said Malcolm as he opened the door for Elizabeth and proceeded to lead her to the Study. "We're having a dinner party tonight, and figured you wouldn't want to show up in the middle of it."  
  
"Well, as long as I can make my plane, then I don't care. Is he here yet?"  
  
"No, but he should be soon. Can I get you a drink?" he asked, walking over to the bar.  
  
"A martini, please."  
  
"Don't remember you drinking those before," he said as he took a look at the clock, and began to make her one.  
  
"I've changed a lot, Malcolm."  
  
--------  
  
"Rafe, I'm going to go down and open the gym up," yelled Alison as she grabbed the keys and went downstairs. It was morning, and she was up early. She unlocked the door, and went to see if the juice bar needed to be stocked. She had crouched down behind it when she heard the front door open, "Good morning!" she said standing up as she made a note of what needed to be done. Looking up she saw it was Caleb, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Just wanted to get a workout, that's all," he said stretching his arms behind him. "Your business wouldn't be partial to the living, now would it? Because I'm sure I could get some pro-vampire group on your butt."  
  
"Caleb, just leave," she said walking from behind the bar and grabbing a mop.  
  
"Now come on, you didn't say that before-you know when we had that one night of amazing passion thanks to Olivia."  
  
"You are amazing, you know that?" she said as a grin appeared on his face. "No, not that way. What I meant was you think you have all this control over me, but you don't. This child is Rafe's, and he knows that. And he now knows about that night, but do you see him walking out on me?" she said as she walked and must have slipped on a wet spot on the floor. Caleb was there in a second, and able to catch her before her head hit the floor.  
  
"Watch it there, sweetheart. Don't want anything to happen to the baby," he said still holding her inches from the floor.  
  
"Ahem," said Rafe from the bottom of the stairwell before going back up to the apartment.  
  
--------  
  
There was a knock on the door, "Ahh. He's here," said Malcolm as he got up to get the door. "Elizabeth, this is my lawyer, Clark."  
  
Her head shot back and looked at him, "This is also my cousin's husband. Is this some type of trick?"  
  
"This is no trick, Mrs. Barrington," said Clark as he sat down at the table and opened his briefcase. He pulled out the divorce papers, and started to discuss the terms that she had agreed to. Everything went to Malcolm, and at his death he promised still to split everything between Reese and Alison.  
  
--------  
  
She was crouched down in the shadows, hoping he didn't see her when he came back out of the gym. Whatever he was doing in there was definitely not in the best interest of anyone. Should she go in and confront him? No, there was no reason to do that. He would know she had followed him, and then the surveillance wouldn't work. She saw Caleb walk out and take a look around. There was no way he could know she was here, but then a smile came across his face. Wipe that smug look off your face. There's no reason to be proud of yourself Caleb. After he walked up the steps she stayed crouched down for a few more minutes, and then went to pay Jack a visit.  
  
-------  
  
"Alright, that's everything," said Clark as put the papers back in the briefcase.  
  
"See Elizabeth? No tricks here," commented Malcolm as they went out into the living room.  
  
Elizabeth looked and saw Reese who looked like she was very uncomfortable standing in the middle of a crowd of yuppies that she did not know. Instead of leaving she went to say goodbye to her, "You don't look like you are enjoying yourself," she said.  
  
"Well, this isn't my scene."  
  
"I'm going back to the hotel now, and then getting on the plane," she said as the two said goodbye.  
  
She was almost to the door when her old friend Erica came in, "Elizabeth," she said pulling her into a hug. "I haven't seen you in over a year. Please stay so we can catch up." She looked at her watch, her plane didn't leave for another three hours-it wouldn't hurt to catch up with an old friend.  
  
--------  
  
"Rafe! Stop," yelled Alison as she went up the stairs after him. "Whatever you think you saw just now was nothing, I swear."  
  
"Then tell me what it was then," he said as he grabbed a jacket.  
  
"I went to open the gym, and he came in wanting a workout."  
  
"A workout," he grumbled. "Like the one you had that night in the barn."  
  
"No, nothing like that."  
  
"Then why were you on the floor and him over you, hmmm? I mean explain that to me. Alison, I love you but whenever I turn around now you two are together in some form. If it's not today it was the other day when Ian came in with him next to you at the bed."  
  
"Rafe, he's trying to get you to think something's going on," she said trying to reach for his arm, but he jerked it away. "Look at me! Look! Do you honestly believe that I want to be with that creep?"  
  
"I don't know! I don't know anything anymore," he yelled as his hand went flying and hit the picture of their sunset, shattering the glass into pieces. He just looked at the mess on the floor, and then at her, "I've got to get some air," then walking out and slamming the door. He had almost got to the car when he realized he didn't have his keys. "Forgot the stupid keys," he snapped as he walked in to see Alison lying on the floor next to the picture, unconscious.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
A/N: Ok, everyone say it together-Caleb is a slime ball, but we love him still-right? Oh, and just on a side note-I'm so BG-deprived that I was writing my own Ozzie scenes earlier. LOL 


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: PC is owned by that network that starts with the beginning of the alphabet.  
  
A/N: (sigh) You try to create a character that everyone will love, and everyone hates her-I don't know if that means I'm doing my job or not. I think it does though, I'm sure it does. Melody-I was thinking of another cartoon like the one you made last night, except this one shows her with the words "Got Bugs?" underneath it. Ok, we need to stop being mean to the girl. Gracie-I love you too. Nat-YAY! No Karissa today either, but wait until you see what she tries to pull off in the next episode. Everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving-remember what you are thankful for this year. Oh, and even be thankful that we had PC for 6 years. I'll take 6 over none at all. Until next time-gobble gobble-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Elizabeth stood there chatting with Erica. It seemed so wonderful to be in the middle of a social circle again. But this wasn't where she belonged, and she knew it. Where she belonged was in Port Charles with her daughter, and making designer clothes with 'George'. "Well, I must be going," she said to Erica. "If you are ever in the New York area, please call me," she said as she wrote down her cell phone number real quick.  
  
"I will," smiled Erica as she gave her a kiss on each cheek.  
  
Elizabeth was half way through the room when Melanie stepped into her path, "What now?" she spoke.  
  
"We have a video we want to show before you leave," she said as she turned around and looked at her husband. Nodding her head Elizabeth watched as Clark leaned down and pushed play on the VCR. The next thing Elizabeth saw on the screen were still pictures of her childhood. The soiled clothes, the napped hair-everything she feared for others to see was being shown.  
  
---------  
  
Rafe opened the passenger door, "Hey sweetie. Wake up for me, please," he begged as he picked her up in his arms. Her body didn't seem as limp, and her breathing had returned to normal on the drive over here. "I'm so sorry. I put too much stress on you. Please wake up for me," he said as he kissed her on the head, then walked into GH. "Help!" he called out and saw Ian.  
  
"What happened?" asked Ian, as he found a gurney quickly and had Rafe lay her down on it.  
  
"We were having a conversation, and it got heated."  
  
"How heated, Rafe?" he said as Rafe didn't say anything but covered his eyes. "Rafe!"  
  
"I didn't hit her, I never touched her. When I got mad, I left. I came back a few minutes later and she had collapsed," he said as he grabbed her hand. "What's wrong? Why won't she wake up?"  
  
"Let me get her to a room, and see if some smelling salts will wake her up," he said as he wheeled the gurney to where Colleen had a room set up.  
  
"If anything happens to her," said a distraught Rafe as he ran both his hands through his hair. He hadn't meant to break that picture. All he wanted to do was keep his family safe, and he seemed to be a lot more harm than good lately.  
  
--------  
  
Chris had seen Rafe bring Alison in, but saw Ian was under control of everything. He watched Rafe as he stood there in the middle of the area wondering what was going on. It wasn't Rafe's fault-whatever happened before was going to happen, it was just a matter of time. For a moment he thought about trying to talk to Rafe, but instead walked to the on-call room. "Alright, Elizabeth-if you don't come home for this, then you really are useless," he said as he dialed her cell phone.  
  
"Hello?" said Elizabeth as she tried to not concentrate on what everyone else was watching in the room.  
  
"It's Chris. Elizabeth, are you at a party?" he said as he heard laughter in the background, never guessing what was going.  
  
"Chris, I can barely hear you. Is everything ok?"  
  
"No it's not, but you don't seem to care. So just go on with your old life, hopefully your daughter can overcome this on her own, because she definitely doesn't need her old mother. She needs the one that had began to care about her," he said hanging up the phone.  
  
But Elizabeth never heard a single word he said, the reception was so bad that all she heard was static. She looked back down at the phone, and then at all her friends laughing at her. Except for Reese-who like her was standing there in shock. Grabbing her purse she ran out of the apartment in tears.  
  
--------  
  
"Alright Rafe, you can come in," said Ian as he pulled back the curtain.  
  
"Is she ok?" he asked as he walked in and saw her lying on the bed with her eyes opened. "Hey, Angel. How are you feeling?"  
  
"You left me," she wheezed out.  
  
"I came right back. I was the one that brought you here. Alison, I love you," he said as Ian kept an eye on her heart rate on the monitor.  
  
"Rafe, can I talk to you outside?" he asked, interrupting the two.  
  
"What is it? I need to be in there with her and the baby," snapped Rafe after being pulled out of the room by Ian.  
  
"That's why I want to talk to you. Rafe, I know it was a shock that she slept with Caleb, and I know it hurt you, but for her health and safety as well as the baby's, you've got to put it aside for awhile."  
  
"I try Ian. You know I try, but it keeps sneaking up on me. I'll be fine then somehow he shows up at the gym, or I see Livvie. So tell me what to do?"  
  
"Here," said Ian as he removed his keys from his pocket, and took off a silver key. "This is the key to mine and Eve's apartment. You don't have to leave her completely, but for now-and whenever you feel yourself about to snap-go there and sleep it off."  
  
-----------  
  
"I need to go back in there and tell her then," he said as he started to return to his wife's side.  
  
"No, I'll tell her you went back to the apartment. But for a few hours just go to mine and relax," he said giving his friend a pat on the back. "She'll be kept overnight for observation, so be ready to sleep in a really uncomfortable chair," he said with a laugh as he went back into Alison's room.  
  
"Where's Rafe?" she asked, wanting him to be near her right now. He may have walked out on her, and caused her to stress so much she fainted, but she still wanted him near her.  
  
"He went back to the apartment for a few things. He'll be back tonight though. I need to talk to you about something important though," he said, taking in a breath. "Alison, you've got to limit your stress for the next several months."  
  
"So what are you saying, Ian? I need to avoid Rafe and this whole town as much as possible? What did you say to him out there?"  
  
"Calm down first. I told him that his stressing over the father of this baby is putting your health in jeopardy. I gave him the key to my apartment, and told him that if he feels like he's about to explode on you, like he did today, then to go to the apartment and sleep it off."  
  
"You have no right to do that, Ian!" 


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: You know the drill.  
  
A/N: Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and didn't get too full on pumpkin pie or mash potatoes, or whatever the dish is that you love so much with your turkey. I will say this-Nat is a mind reader. LOL. Everyone enjoy. Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"You have no right to do that, Ian!" she yelled.  
  
"Yes, I do have a right," he grinned. "I am your doctor, along with being a good friend. I'm worried about you Alison."  
  
"Well, thank you for your concern, but I think there is a conflict of interest here-so make your choice, are you my friend or my doctor?"  
  
"Alison, don't make me chose like that. I wouldn't have made Rafe leave if I didn't think you needed a break."  
  
"The only break I need is the one where he walks in here, and says he forgives me," she cried through tears.  
  
"I've got other patients to check on. I'll be back later, ok?" he said as she just gave a nod, while she messed with the edge of the sheet.  
  
"Hey, Ian?"  
  
"Yeah?" he said turning around.  
  
"Thanks." He stood there, tapping the back of her chart with his fingers, a smile came over his face, and then he left her to relax.  
  
---------  
  
He hit the alarm clock as it went off, he'd gone home like Ian had requested-though he definitely didn't agree with him. One thing they both agreed on was Alison's safety, and if Ian thought that him not being around Alison immediately was the best thing, then he wouldn't argue. He got up, and went to take a shower before heading over back to the hospital. When he got his shirt off there was a knock on the door, and he figured he better go see who it was. "Yes?" he said opening the door as he leaned against it.  
  
"Rafe, I need to talk to you," cried Karissa as she put herself against him.  
  
"What's wrong," he said as he placed a hand on her back to try and console her.  
  
"I just realized something. Rafe, I always thought the feelings I had for you had gone away, but I was so wrong."  
  
"Feelings for me?" he said pulling her back to look at her.  
  
"Yes, I mean I know it was so long ago," she said biting her lip. "Do you feel the same way? Please say you do," she pleaded as he looked at her confused.  
  
------------  
  
Melanie turned the television off, looking so smug at what had just occurred. She then turned to Clark and gave him a kiss. She never saw Reese walk up behind her. "Excuse me," said Reese which caused Melanie to turn around so her face came into contact with the palm of Reese's hand. "You are definitely a bitch," she said confidently.  
  
"Reese, I think you should leave," said Malcolm as he came up to try and regain control of the situation.  
  
"It would be my pleasure, but first I want to tell you what I think of you. I am proud that I never got to know you, and I never will. I would rather have Joshua Temple be my father than you. You think that all that matters in life is having friends and fun. But life is truly about family, and you have none. You were never there for either of your daughters, and I will make sure you are never there for your grandchildren either. If my mum here is smart she'll leave your sorry ass too," she said as she left him standing there, and went to pack up the one bag she had.  
  
-----------------  
  
"Karissa, you are talking like we were a couple before."  
  
"Well, we were-kind of."  
  
"No, we never were. You've been playing with my head for the past few weeks. What you remember and I remember are two different things."  
  
"Why do you think that is," she asked as she got closer to him, her mouth just inches away from his neck. She had to hold her breath, the smell of the blood was causing her to lose her concentration for what Caleb wanted her to do.  
  
His reaction, like whenever anyone got near his neck, was to flinch away, "Stop, just stop. I have always seen you as a friend, and that's all. Now if you don't mind, I need to get to a shower and leave," he said as he watched her leave the apartment broken hearted. "What has gotten into you in the past thirteen years?" he said scratching his head and heading back for a shower.  
  
When the shower was definitely running she snuck back into the apartment and looked around. "Perfect," she said grabbing his shirt. "This should get Alison to stop trusting you," she said as she put on some fresh lipstick and left a big kiss near the collar.  
  
---------------  
  
"How are you feeling?" he said as he walked in, his feet scuffing the floor and almost falling onto the bed.  
  
"You better watch it, or I'm not going to be the only one in the hospital," she said.  
  
"Yeah, well that's never happened before," he said looking at the floor where he almost slipped.  
  
"Sure," she said smiling.  
  
"Rafe just called. He's on his way over. Can I get you anything before he gets here?"  
  
"Well, you could get me discharged."  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Ian, I'm completely fine. My heart rate has been more boring the past few hours than watching bread rise."  
  
He just laughed, then his beeper went off, "I'll be back," he said walking out, still reading the number as he ran into Caleb walking towards Alison's room. "Where do you think you're going?"  
  
"To visit a friend, that's all. Is that a crime?"  
  
"For you-yes. Now why don't you and I go for a nice ride on the elevator?" as he pulled Caleb onto an awaiting one.  
  
--------------  
  
Karissa walked into the Elixir, it was empty, and she didn't see Jack or Frank anywhere around. She made a second check before sneaking back into the kitchen. Walking over to the freezer she opened it up and grabbed a few bags of blood. "You won't miss these, Frank," she said as she quickly put them in her purse, and then slipped out the back door.  
  
--------------  
  
"This is discriminatory," complained Caleb as they walked onto the bottom floor. "I'm going to talk to the board about you."  
  
"Whatever," he said as he saw Rafe walking in from the parking deck.  
  
"What is he doing here?"  
  
"I can't believe this. I go anywhere and everyone thinks I'm trying to cause mischief."  
  
"Well, you usually do," smiled Rafe. "How's Alison?"  
  
"She's in room 621 waiting on you. Let me make sure he gets to his car safely. Wouldn't want you to slip and be able to sue us."  
  
"I can walk on my own accord," said Caleb as he threw his hands up and walked in front of Ian. "Oh, Rafe-looks like you have some lipstick on your shirt there," he said with a grin as he kept moving.  
  
"What the?" said Rafe as he looked at the collar of his shirt. "Karissa," he sighed as he tried to come up with a quick excuse for Alison.  
  
---------------  
  
"Elizabeth? Are you still here?" she said as she opened the hotel room door. "Hey, are you ready to go?" she said as she stood thee with her bag on her shoulder.  
  
"Where do you think we are going?" she said as she wiped her eyes with a tissue.  
  
"Home of course," said Reese. She hadn't realized it until it came out of her mouth, but Port Charles was the only place she had ever called home.  
  
"I can't go back there. Are you crazy? I'm sure Melanie has a tape in the mail on the way to Alison right now. I can't look her in the eyes ever again."  
  
"Alison knows you, and she knows your past too."  
  
"Not that part of it. I'm so ashamed, and I never want her to know about that."  
  
Reese just looked at Elizabeth. This wasn't the woman she had known before, the one that had married Stephen. This one had tried not to disappoint her daughter, and feared now that she finally had. "Well, if that's how you feel, goodbye Elizabeth," said Reese as she closed the door and went to catch a plane. 


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I'm tired of writing these, so unless it's needed this is the last one. ABC owns it, and I know that.  
  
A/N: Nat gets the award for shortest review. Gracie and Melody-you two are great, and yes Karissa is just another in a long list of people Caleb has used to split up our couple. Never fear-it's not going to happen. (Not while I'm writing this story. LOL!) Enjoy, and until next time-ya'll are the best-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Jack was looking over the numbers from the past few months, and they were horrible, "I can't stay open much longer if things keep going this way," he said slamming the book and shoving it under the counter.  
  
"Business slow?" asked Reese and she walked up to the bar and in front of him.  
  
"Too slow," he said as a smile came over his face. "So you finally decided to come back to good old Port Charles?"  
  
"Yeah, I need to find your brother."  
  
------  
  
He walked out of the elevator tugging at the shirt. He had stopped the elevator between floors when he realized all he had to do was turn it inside out. Even if it did look stupid, it was better than getting Alison frustrated and not trusting him. They were trying to gain trust, not lose it, "Hello, Angel," he said as he walked in holding some pink roses in a vase.  
  
"Well hey there," she said as he placed the roses next to her bed, and then gave her a kiss. "You are in a chipper mood."  
  
"Yeah, well I feel refreshed now," he said taking a seat in the chair and pulling it over to her.  
  
"Rafe, do you realize your shirt is inside out?" she laughed  
  
"Really?" he said looking down at it, trying to do a shocked look. "Imagine that."  
  
"See this is why I can't be in the hospital, because you obviously can't dress yourself. Now stand up and put it on right."  
  
He couldn't put the shirt on right without her seeing it, but then he saw Ian coming towards the room. Running out he grabbed his arm and whispered, "You've got to help me."  
  
-------  
  
"How was your Science test?" asked Frank as Neil walked in, not saying a word, but just going back to his room. "Not good, I guess," he said as he finished the bill he was paying and then went to the back room to see Neil packing up his stuff. "Hey, where do you think your going?"  
  
"I flunked it, Frank. I can't do anything right."  
  
"Well, we'll just work harder on the next one. Why are you packing though?"  
  
"Because you probably don't want me around anymore."  
  
-------  
  
"Chris? What for?"  
  
"It's about Elizabeth, she needs his help."  
  
"I talked to him last night, he doesn't want to even be reminded of her right now. Alison's in the hospital, and she doesn't seem to care."  
  
"Is everything ok with Alison?"  
  
"Yeah, she'll be fine. But having her mom around would help a lot."  
  
"Well, that's why I need to talk to Chris. Things have happened while Elizabeth has been in London. The other day she was made a fool of in front of her whole social circle."  
  
"Then why doesn't she just leave London and come back here?" he said as he grabbed a rag and started to wipe down the bar.  
  
"She feels like Alison will find out about it, and look down on her. I tried to tell her that Alison won't care, but she won't listen to me. The only people she's going to listen to are Alison and Chris-and Alison's in no shape to fly to London. So what do you say, Jack?"  
  
--------  
  
"Put this on," said Ian as he threw a shirt at Rafe. They were in the on- call room, and Ian had just happened to have a button up shirt in his locker.  
  
"Thanks, I can't believe this happened."  
  
"How did you get lipstick on your shirt anyways?" he said as he looked at the shirt himself.  
  
"That's what I want to know. Karissa came by, literally throwing herself at me."  
  
"So her lipstick got on the shirt when she did that?"  
  
"I wasn't wearing a shirt!" he hollered, still trying to be quiet. Ian just stood there laughing. "This isn't funny, Ian. This girl is obviously here to ruin my life."  
  
"Nah, you are doing that on your own just fine. I'm going to take this home and get it washed tonight," he said as he went to the closet next to the locker and pulled out a blanket and pillow, "Here, you really want the good pillows, not the ones the nurses give you."  
  
-------  
  
"Why would you say that?"  
  
"I can't do anything right, and you don't want a useless roommate."  
  
"Neil, you are more than just a roommate to me. You are my son, and my number one priority. My door will always be one for you, and I am never going to force you out."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, really. Now do you have your test?" he asked as Neil went over to the trashcan and pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper. "Good, let's go through this and see what you need to study more next time."  
  
------  
  
"You really thought this through, didn't you?"  
  
"Well, it was a long flight from London to Port Charles," she shrugged.  
  
"You know what I think? I think you see this town as home, and are worried about your family."  
  
"I don't have any family."  
  
"Alison's your sister, and she needs her mother and you are trying to help them both."  
  
"I don't know what you are talking about, Ramsey," smiled Reese as she sat there and continued to ignore his comments.  
  
-----  
  
He walked in and just smiled, she was sound asleep, "Well, I guess I don't have to worry about the shirt after all," he laughed as he looked at Ian.  
  
"Ok, I'm going to sign out. See you in the morning."  
  
"Night Ian," he said as he went over to the chair. "How does this thing recline?" he said messing with the side bar. Finally pulling it towards him it reclined, and made a noise that woke Alison up. "Go back to sleep."  
  
"Hmmm? You changed shirts?" she groggily commented.  
  
"Yeah, that shirt had a huge spaghetti stain on it. Ian gave me one of his," he said as he got back up and gave her a kiss, then watched her roll over and fall back asleep. 


	28. Chapter 28

A/N: Now why would you ever think that Alison will catch onto the whole inside-shirt incident? Speaking of that-couldn't you just see Rafe walking around with his shirt inside out? Now there's an important thing I need to post about the following Livvie scenes. There was a scene that was created at one point, and then removed. Pretty much it went Frank told Jack that he couldn't work at the Elixir, and wanted more time with Neil for right now. Then Frank brought up missing blood, and then Jack left leaving Livvie in charge of the place. Whew-that was a mouthful. Anywho-enjoy. Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Ok, I counted my supply, and I'm heading out," said Frank as he walked out from the back room. "Can you handle this until Jack gets back?"  
  
"Yeah, I think I'll be fine. I'll keep an ear out for someone in the back. What if someone wants a mixed drink?" asked Livvie, as she had no idea how to pour drinks.  
  
"Uhm, just tell them we don't start serving alcohol until 5," he said giving her a wave and heading out the door.  
  
"Great, I hope they don't get mad at me for that," she said as she looked under the counter for something.  
  
"Can I get some service here?" asked a voice at the bar. Livvie stood up and came face to face with Caleb. "Well, Olivia-now I know what your new job is," he smiled.  
  
--------  
  
"I'll be right back," he said as he pulled the car into Lucy's driveway. Alison had been released earlier, and on the way home they decided to stop and pick up the shirt.  
  
"I can come in," she said getting out of the car. "They told me to take it easy, not be an invalid, Rafe." She looked at him, there was something he was worried about, but of course he wasn't going to tell her what was going on. She figured after they got home she would confront him with whatever it was.  
  
"I just figured you'd want to sit, that's all."  
  
"I've done enough sitting."  
  
"Lucy, we're here," he said as he stuck his head inside the door.  
  
"Hey Rafe. Hold on, let me get the shirt," she said as they watched her walk to the laundry room. "The lipstick came out pretty easy," she hollered as she walked into the living room, then seeing that Alison was with him.  
  
"Lipstick?"  
  
--------  
  
"Thanks for meeting me here," said Reese as Jack walked up to her. "I figured that Chris might be more willing to listen to me if you were here."  
  
"No problem, I should come over and visit my brother more often than I do," he said as he rang the doorbell.  
  
"Did you have to close down the Elixir?"  
  
"No, Livvie is running it right now. Hey, we're having a problem with someone taking from Frank's supply in the back. You don't know anything about it, do you?"  
  
"I've only been back for a day now, how could I know anything?"  
  
"Nevermind," he said as the door opened. "Hey Chris."  
  
"What's this?" he said looking at one and then the other.  
  
--------  
  
"Can I get you something, Caleb? Perhaps a nice bloody steak, as that's the only way you're going to get any blood in your system right now."  
  
"I was just coming over to see what you were up to lately. You've been getting in late, and I just wanted to make sure you were keeping the vows we made to each other."  
  
"Are you actually thinking that I may have cheated you on? The only reason I have been avoiding you is because you won't tell me the truth. All you have to do is admit to me that Karissa is working for you, and then everything will be back to normal, ok?"  
  
He leaned across the bar and looked straight in her eyes, "Well, what if I were to tell you she's not working for me."  
  
"Then I'd say you were a liar," she said as she walked off to greet a customer.  
  
------  
  
"Did I say lipstick? I meant spaghetti," she said as she tried to remember what Ian had told her to say.  
  
"There's a big difference between lipstick and spaghetti," said Alison as she took the shirt and looked at it. "Hmmm, no remnants of the spaghetti stain at all."  
  
"I guess Lucy just has really good detergent," he said as Lucy mouthed the word sorry to him.  
  
She looked at the collar next and was able to see the hint of a red stain, almost as if someone had kissed his shirt. She looked at him, and saw he was speechless. This was obviously what had been bothering him lately. Instead of starting a fight in the middle of Lucy's living room she turned around and left.  
  
------  
  
"We need to talk to you about Elizabeth," said Jack as they walked into the apartment.  
  
"Elizabeth who?" asked Chris. He knew who they were talking about, but he didn't care anymore. The woman obviously had forgotten about everyone in Port Charles, so he was fine about forgetting about her.  
  
"Barrington. You need to go to London for her."  
  
"Why? Does she need to George to make another appearance at one of her elite social gatherings?"  
  
"What are you talking about, Chris?" asked Jack.  
  
"Nothing. I don't need to do anything for her, I've already done too much."  
  
"We both know everything that Alison is going through right now, so why do you not want her mother to be here."  
  
"Because she obviously doesn't care."  
  
"You have no idea how wrong you are," said Reese.  
  
------  
  
"That's not very nice," he said giving her a pouty face as she returned to the bar.  
  
"Well, I'm not a very nice person, am I? You know what, I'm busy running this place right now, and don't have time to talk, so why don't you just go find your girlfriend slash accomplice in crime and hang out with her for a bit."  
  
"If that's how you feel, Olivia." He took her hand and gave it a kiss, and then left. She just stood there watching him walk past the window. It would be so much easier on everyone if he told the truth. He always said she needed to be honest with him, but where was the honesty when the tables were turned?  
  
------  
  
"Alison, wait," he shouted running out the door.  
  
"Whose lipstick is it?" she hollered back, her hand on the door handle.  
  
He sighed, "Karissa's."  
  
"Oh your sweet friend from Transylvania. Maybe Livvie was right, this girl is obviously bad news."  
  
"I don't know what's gotten into her, I swear. She came onto me last night right before I had my shower. I wasn't even wearing a shirt."  
  
"Have you ever heard of the phrase stop while you're ahead, Rafe?" she said getting in the car and driving off.  
  
He just walked back into Lucy's sighing. Looking up at her he asked, "Can you drive me home?"  
  
-------  
  
"I'm wrong? Then why don't you tell me what is so important that she can't come home."  
  
"To make it short, she's being blackmailed in staying there. The only two people I think that will get her to come home are you and Alison. Alison is in no shape to fly across the Atlantic, so that leaves you. So what do you say?"  
  
"That's a pretty lame excuse," he said as he stood in front of the other two.  
  
"Then fine, let me add something. You've called Elizabeth since she's been gone, why did you keep calling her if you didn't want her in your life? You've finally found someone to be happy with again, don't blow it Chris."  
  
"Fine, when is the next flight to London," he asked as he rubbed his hands over his face. 


	29. Chapter 29

A/N: The keyword today is bribery. ;) Yes, Lucy is really bad at lying- but we've always known that, haven't we? Hehehe. No, I will not kill Karissa-I'm becoming very fond of the Rafe/Karissa pairing. JUST KIDDING! Everyone enjoy. Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
She was sitting down at the bar, trying to forget her past-completely. She wished she could find someone to get into bed, sex was always a good way to forget everything else. Looking around she noticed a handsome brunette at the bar, "He looks like a good target," she said as she went strolling up to him, trying to make herself look more desirable. "Hello, care for a drink?" she asked him, as he shook his head no. She went back to the table, and sat down, "No luck with the men tonight?" she heard from beside her.  
  
"No, doesn't seem that way," she said keeping her head down and not looking up.  
  
"Well, how about I buy you a martini and we drown our sorrows together?" he said sitting down in front of her.  
  
"Chris? What are you doing here?" she whispered.  
  
"I'm here to take you home."  
  
----------  
  
Alison was sitting on the couch looking at a magazine when he walked in carrying a plastic grocery bag with him. He looked at her and kept walking to the kitchen, "What's in the bag?" she asked as he took out a bowl from the cupboard.  
  
"It's Butter Pecan Ice Cream, your favorite," he said looking at her with a smile.  
  
"So now you are going to bribe me with sweets?" she said, trying not to smile. When she had got home she realized that he was going to have to find his own way home, and maybe she overreacted a bit.  
  
"If I do, will you be upset?" He walked back to where she was and handed her the bowl.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me what she was doing, and why did you not have a shirt on?" she said taking a big scoop and then savoring it.  
  
------  
  
"Well, it looks like you kept it running pretty smoothly," commented Jack as got back.  
  
"Yeah, Frank told me to tell them no mixed drinks before 5. That made it a lot easier. Caleb came by though."  
  
"Really? What did he have to say?"  
  
"Wanted to know where I was, acted like he missed me," she shrugged.  
  
"Maybe he does miss you. You know, you could always give up this hunt for proof of him and Karissa working together and actually be with him."  
  
"Yeah, but there's something more to her," she said as she heard something in the back. Putting her finger to her lips she walked over to the door and cracked it open slightly. "I think we found the person that was stealing Frank's supply," she said as she grabbed his hand and yanked him to the door so he could see.  
  
------  
  
"I can't go home," she said as she got up, and went to the elevator.  
  
"Why not? Why don't you explain to me why you are acting like you've fallen back into your old partying days, when in reality you are still as miserable as ever?"  
  
"You wouldn't understand," she said as they got to her room.  
  
"Why don't you try me, Elizabeth? I mean-you have a daughter who really needs you right now. You have no clue what has happened in the past month because you've been here, and not calling her at all."  
  
"She shouldn't need me."  
  
"Why? Because you weren't in the majority of her life so far? Well, sweetheart, you've been there the past year-and trust me that counts for something."  
  
--------  
  
"I didn't want to upset you again at the hospital. And I was heading to the shower when there was a knock on the door-I thought it might have been important," he said trying to steal a bite.  
  
"Get your own bowl," she said, still trying to act upset by getting it out of his grasp.  
  
"I was going to tell you when we got home. Do you believe me?"  
  
"I do. I could tell you were upset by something, I just never imagined it was that." A laugh finally escaped her lips as she lost her composure.  
  
"What's so funny?"  
  
"You were walking around the hospital with your shirt inside out. All for me," she said looking at him with a smile.  
  
------  
  
"You know, there are other things just as bad as sexual abuse," she said thinking back to those ten years of her life when she lived with the Tripp's.  
  
"Yeah, there are," said Chris as he got quiet, thinking back to what he did to protect Jack. "I protected Jack from my father's wrath. Is that what you are doing? You think you are protecting Alison from something by not telling her?"  
  
"It's better this way. That's what I've always thought," she said looking outside the window. She turned around and looked at him, "I was abandoned by my mother when I was six. Then, for the next ten years I was told how worthless I was, how my mother didn't love me, and that meant nobody would- ever. At sixteen I ran, ran as fast as I could-straight into Malcolm Barrington's arms," she said with a sigh.  
  
"And then for the next twenty two years he never gave you love either," Chris said walking up behind her.  
  
"Exactly. So how can I love my daughter, if I've never been loved?" she said as tears started to form.  
  
"So that's why you ran? You are scared to love," said Chris as he made her turn around and look at him. She nodded. "I was scared to love once. Thought if I opened my heart to someone I would some how turn out like him. But you know what? We protect the ones we love. I protected Jack-meaning I loved him, even though I didn't know him. And you love Alison-you always have, Elizabeth."  
  
"I don't know if I can tell her this though."  
  
"Well, you know what? I'll be there," he said taking her hand. "I'm not going to say forever-because sometimes you just drive me absolutely batty," he said with a grin. "But I'll stand beside you for as long as I can keep my sanity."  
  
"You have sanity? When did that happen?" she said, laughing. "Thanks Chris. That means a lot," she said, then without hesitation he pulled her in for a kiss.  
  
"So why don't we head on home?"  
  
"First, I want do something else," she said as she tried to pull herself together then went to the bathroom to freshen up.  
  
------  
  
"So am I off the hook?" asked Rafe as he realized she had been playing with him since the moment he walked in the door.  
  
"Yeah, for now I suppose. Anyways, I completely understand why she did what she did."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, I mean you are irresistible without a shirt on," she laughed as she leaned into him and finished her bowl of ice cream.  
  
-----------  
  
"Come on," she said as she started to open the door.  
  
"What are you going to say? It's not like you have proof she's a vampire or anything."  
  
"Hello, Jack! She's stealing blood. What other reason would she have to take it?"  
  
"Fine," he said as he opened the door for her and she walked in.  
  
"Well, hello there, Karissa," said Livvie as she tried to put her sweetest voice on for show. "What have you got there?" she said pointing to the bag.  
  
"This? Oh there's nothing in here," she said as she pulled the bag closer to her body. What was Livvie doing here? She was going to ruin everything.  
  
"Well, let's just have a look," said Livvie as she snatched the bag from her grasp. She opened it up and smiled as she pulled out a bag of blood. "What does this look like to you Jack?" she said turning around to look at him.  
  
"It looks like blood," he said taking it from her hands and brought it to his nose, "and it smells like blood too."  
  
"So what would the close childhood friend of a vampire slayer be doing with blood?" she said looking back at Karissa.  
  
-------- 


	30. Chapter 30

A/N: Gracie girl-good grief-I hadn't had the last chapter posted an hour when you'd already sent in your review. LOL. Melody-yes, Livvie is kicking butt and taking names. Are they really back on the road to Lovefest 2003? Hmmm, ya gotta wait and see. LOL-I read that first paragraph once and thought it might sound like Livvie or someone else, but I figured it was just me. Nat-thank you for the compliment. And yes, Rali will be in Happyville for the Holidays, kinda. Until next time-ya'll are the best-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Are you going to answer my question?" asked Livvie as she stood there, her arms crossed, staring at Karissa.  
  
"It's none of your business, now may I please go?"  
  
"No, you see when you sneak into this business that is owned and operated by my friend Jack, and you start stealing from Frank then you make it my business."  
  
"Well, then what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your husband?"  
  
"You know what, I'm getting really tired of you avoiding my question, so why don't you make this easy on everyone and answer it."  
  
"I don't think so, Livvie," she said as she started to move towards the door.  
  
"You aren't going anywhere," she yelled as she extended her arm and was able to force Karissa against the wall.  
  
"Calm down, Livvie," said Jack, unsure of how to stop her.  
  
"I think you better leave Jack, I wouldn't want you to get blamed for what might happen," she said as she heard him back out the door. "Now it's just you and me," she grinned at Karissa.  
  
-------  
  
"You know what would make me feel better," she said as she snuggled up to him as they sat on the couch together.  
  
"What's that?" he said as he played with her hair. Things were finally starting to feel normal again, and he was enjoying being with her.  
  
"If you would tell Karissa that you have no feelings for her."  
  
"I did that before. I'm sure she understood."  
  
"Well, I'd rather it be well known," she said as the phone rang. "Ugh, you think we could have some privacy for a few minutes," she said answering it, "Hello?"  
  
"Hey, Alison. Is Rafe there?" said Jack on the other end.  
  
"Yeah, hold on," she said handing the phone to him.  
  
"What's up?" he asked.  
  
"You need to get down here. Livvie has your friend Karissa cornered in the back room, and it's about to get ugly."  
  
"I'll be right there," he said hanging up and jumping off the couch.  
  
"What was that about?"  
  
"It's Livvie and Karissa, they are about to go at it in the Elixir," he said grabbing a coat and heading out, with Alison following behind him.  
  
------  
  
"Who lives here?" asked Chris as they stood outside a house.  
  
"One of those people that didn't love me for ten years. I figured it's time I stand on my own two feet, and tell them just what I think about them. Wouldn't you say?" she said knocking on the door.  
  
They waited a minute and the door opened, "Elizabeth, it's so nice to see you," said Melanie. "Won't you come in?"  
  
"Oh, this won't take a minute. I just wanted to let you know you have no control over me anymore. You may have had it better than me growing up, but you know what? You are exactly like your father, controlling, manipulative, and willing to do anything to get your way. I really have pity on you sweetheart. One day you are going to wake up and realize what type of person you are, but until then-Ta!" she said walking away, leaving Melanie standing there in shock.  
  
------  
  
"Livvie, what has gotten into you?" cried Karissa as she sat in the corner, being pushed down by Livvie.  
  
"I'm tired of you being in this town," she said, her arm still extended. She didn't know where the power came from, and never had done this before, but it definitely had its advantages. She heard the door behind her open, "I told you to leave, Jack!" she yelled, not taking her attention away from the girl yet.  
  
"I'm not Jack," said Rafe as he reached across her and made her lose her concentration. "Now why don't you go out front and get some water," he said as he turned her around and shoved her to the door. He then looked back at Karissa, and squatted down in front of her, "And why don't you tell me how long you've been a vampire?"  
  
------  
  
"Are you ok?" asked Alison as Livvie sat down on the couch.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just she makes me so angry."  
  
"Well, what do you think her motive is?"  
  
"Her motive is trying to ruin your marriage. She's working for Caleb, I can feel it-I just don't have proof yet."  
  
"Well how are you going to get some?" she said as Jack joined the two.  
  
Livvie looked at Jack, "Should we tell her?"  
  
"Why not," he shrugged.  
  
"Ok. We've got surveillance set up at the loft. The monitors are at Jack's, I've been watching them for the past few days. Of course, they are either not meeting at all, or somewhere other than the loft."  
  
"Do you think he suspects anything? I mean Rafe and I did that before, and the outcome was almost deadly."  
  
"I hope not, or it will be again," she said, realizing that this might not be that great of an idea after all.  
  
-------  
  
"Wow, I feel so much better now Chris," said Elizabeth as they got into their seats on the plane.  
  
"Well, you should. That woman never saw what hit her. So what is the first thing we shall do when we return home?"  
  
"I need to talk to Alison," she said, getting a little downhearted because she hadn't been there sooner.  
  
"Well, why wait? Let's call her now," he said pulling out his cell phone. "What's her cell phone number?"  
  
She gave him the number and he dialed, her heart started to race as it rang. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe she should wait until they got back to Port Charles. But when she heard her daughter's voice she knew this was the right thing, "Hi sweetheart," she said as she grabbed Chris' hand for support.  
  
"Mother," said a surprised Alison as she looked at both Livvie and Jack. Jack had the hint of a smile appearing, but Alison had no idea it was because Chris had succeeded in what he had gone off to do-bring Elizabeth back where she belonged.  
  
"Oh sweetie, it's so good to hear your voice. I'm on a plane right now heading home, Chris is here with me."  
  
"The connection must be bad, I swear you just said Chris is with you," she said realizing now what Jack had been up to.  
  
"That's what I said. Listen, can you meet me at the airport?" she said as she gave the flight information. "I love you, sweetie," she said hanging up. She looked over at Chris and then just put her head on his shoulder.  
  
-------  
  
"Don't hurt me," she cried.  
  
"I'm not going to hurt you. Just tell me what was going on."  
  
"I needed blood, and I knew Frank kept his stash here. I was just borrowing a few bags when Livvie and Jack came in."  
  
"So you are a vampire?" he said, not very surprised. There had been something different with her, and he was upset at himself for not realizing it.  
  
"Yes, I am," she said trying to look ashamed. "It wasn't my choice though, I swear."  
  
"I believe you," he said, even though he was half unsure of that fact. "When did it happen?"  
  
"About five years ago. I was wandering around late at night and he came up behind me. I was sure I was going to die as I felt his fangs inside of me, but he let me live. Oh Rafe," she said as she pulled herself against him.  
  
"It's ok," he said pulling her away. "You are going to be fine, there's nothing to worry about. Why don't you head out the back door? I'm going to talk to Livvie," he said as he stood them both up and motioned her to the door.  
  
"Thank you," she said softly as she looked back at him before leaving. "Olivia, your husband isn't going to like the news I have to tell him," she stated before walking in the direction of Caleb's loft. 


	31. Chapter 31

A/N: I'm in such a wonderfully happy mood right now (Hmmm.wonder why?) I'm posting another episode. YAY! Until next time-I LOVE SOAPNET (LOL!)- PCGirl.  
  
~~~~  
  
"Is everything ok here?" asked Rafe as he walked around back and over to the couches.  
  
"Yeah," said Alison giving him a kiss. "My mother just called-she's on her way home. So I am going to go over and start planning Thanksgiving dinner with Lucy, and then meet her at the airport. You want to join me?"  
  
"I think I'll pass, but be careful ok?" he said, becoming worried that the return of her mother might put stress on her again.  
  
"I'll be fine," she said as she gave him a smile and headed out the door. She looked around and saw the brunette walking away from her and towards the docks. "Annette?" she called out, confused as to what she may be doing in town.  
  
-----  
  
"This may be none of my business," said Livvie as Rafe watched Alison leave and then turn his attention to her. "But when was the last time you told her you loved her?"  
  
"You are correct Livvie, it isn't your business. Why do you ask though?"  
  
"Because it's obvious that she thinks you don't love her anymore. Or you love her less than before."  
  
"Nothing's further from the truth."  
  
"Have you told her that though? Rafe, there's a big difference in what you think in your head and what she knows as the truth. So if you want to save your marriage, then I suggest you tell her you love her and forgive her tonight."  
  
"Now I know why you are on this love spree-you are mad at Caleb for something. What is it?"  
  
"Want to know a secret?" she said leaning into him.  
  
"Sure."  
  
"Karissa is working with him to ruin you."  
  
-------  
  
"Annette," she said running up to her, and tapping her on the shoulder.  
  
"Oh, Alison," she said as she cringed inside. This day was going from bad to worse real quick.  
  
"What are you doing in town?"  
  
"Oh, a former guest at the Bed and Breakfast forgot something and I was returning it to them."  
  
"Well, that's sweet of you," she smiled. Something seemed different about her this time, and she was getting a bad vibe so she decided to leave, "I better go, I have to go over to Rafe's cousin's to plan Thanksgiving dinner. Happy Holidays!" she said as she turned and sprinted to the car.  
  
--------  
  
"Oh really?" he said as a grin appeared on his face. Livvie was no longer obsessing about Alison which was good, but she had now started to obsess about Karissa. He didn't know which was worse.  
  
"Wipe that grin off your face. What is so funny anyways?"  
  
"Livvie, Karissa is nothing but a sweet Transylvanian who owns a Bed and Breakfast. She happened to be turned one night by one of your kind, and can't do anything about it."  
  
"Wait, go back a few steps," she said, as what he just said hit her.  
  
"Which part? Her being sweet or she owns a Bed and Breakfast."  
  
"You knew this and you didn't tell me? Jeez-now I know who she reminds me of."  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The other B&B owner we know-Annette."  
  
------  
  
"Come in," said Caleb as he opened the door and motioned for Karissa to walk in. "So what brings you here today?"  
  
"You need to get a hold of your wife. She almost ruined everything today," she snapped.  
  
"How?"  
  
"I was stealing blood," she slipped.  
  
"I figured you were one of us. Did Annette turn you? Is that how she got you to come here?"  
  
"No, she didn't turn me."  
  
"So let me guess? Olivia caught you red handed?"  
  
"Yes, and then Rafe showed up. Of course, I was able to get him to have pity on me again," she grinned.  
  
"Well, you keep working on Rafe, and I'll deal with my sweet Olivia," he said as he pushed her out the door. "And you Olivia, have been a very bad girl," he said putting on a jacket, and then heading out.  
  
-------  
  
"You are amazing," he said looking at her.  
  
"Why thank you," she said trying to act embarrassed.  
  
"It wasn't a compliment," he groaned as he walked towards the door.  
  
"Oh, come on Rafe. They could be working together. You never know," she said as they got to the parking lot.  
  
"Yeah, and I could be Caleb's best friend too. It just doesn't work out that way, trust me," he said realizing Alison had taken the car. "Great, now I've got to walk home," he sighed.  
  
"I'll give you a ride. I just realized I have an overdue visit with someone," she said as she motioned over to her car, and he decided to take the chance.  
  
----------- 


	32. Chapter 32

A/N: Bet ya'll thought I forgot about the story now-nah, just had some other things to do. Today's chapter is all about family, and then we've got the Thanksgiving episode. I can hear the Happyville train coming down the tracks. LOL. Until next time-ya'll are the best and SoapNet still rocks-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
She pulled the car into park, and sat there for a minute. When she dropped Rafe off he asked where she was going, and when she told him home, he called her a liar. "Figures he had to see through me," she sighed as she got out of the car. She walked up the steps, and paused at the plaque next to the door, "Ferncliff Mental Institution," she read then walked in. The whiteness of the walls, and the sterility of it all was making her want to turn around and run, but she kept walking to the sign in desk, "Hello, I'm Livvie Morley, and I'm here to visit my mother-Rachel Locke," she smiled at the desk assistant and kept walking.  
  
She got to the room, and opened the door, "Hi, mama," she said, taking off her black leather jacket and placing it in the chair. She walked over and gave her a kiss, "Happy Thanksgiving," she said, wishing her Mom could talk back to her.  
  
------  
  
Alison stood at the gate waiting for the plane to come in, she looked back at her watch-what was taking them so long to unload. Just then the people started shuffling out of the gate, and she held her breath. She saw Chris first, his hand holding firmly to Elizabeth's. Elizabeth let go and ran up to her daughter, pulling her into a hug, "Oh sweetie. I've missed you so much. I'm so sorry I haven't been here to help you through everything-is it getting better now."  
  
"I've missed you too Mom," she said as she began to get emotional-darn hormones. "Things are getting back to normal, finally. Or as normal as you can get when you live with vampires," she laughed.  
  
"I'm going to go to over there," said Chris as he pointed to a pay phone area and then gave her a kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Well, why don't we head on back now?" asked Alison as they stood there.  
  
"No, first I need to explain to you what's been going on in London."  
  
------  
  
"What in the world is this place?" said Gabby to Joe as they entered the Elixir. Looking over to the corner she saw Ricky sitting at a table with two other females. "I'll be right back," she said giving Joe a kiss while he went to see if Frank was working. "Ricky!" she yelled as she ran over to him.  
  
"Gabby!" he said as a smile appeared on his face. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Joe and I came down for Thanksgiving with Mary and Victor. So can I ask what this place is?"  
  
"This is the Elixir. It's a long story."  
  
"Well, I'd love to hear it," she said as she sat down.  
  
"Ok, but first let me introduce you to Casey Leong, and Reese Black. Reese and I were in a band together awhile ago, and I think you may have met Casey before."  
  
"Yeah, I think I have. So you were in a band? What was the group?"  
  
"The Stephen Clay Experience," he said as he saw Caleb walk in and look around. "So how is everything where you are now?" he asked, trying to not notice that Caleb seemed peeved at something, probably looking for his lost wife again.  
  
"Oh it's wonderful, but sometimes I miss being near my family, and I know Joe does too. We didn't hear from Frank for a few months, and had got worried, but now everything seems better."  
  
"I've thought about leaving this town," said Ricky, who saw the surprise on Casey's face when he said that.  
  
"Excuse me," said Caleb as he walked up behind Gabby. "Has anyone seen my wife?" he asked. Gabby turned around with a look of shock and terror on her face. "Well, hello Gabriella," he said as a smirk came across his face.  
  
-----  
  
"I know I should have come sooner to see you," she said as she pushed her hair out of her face. "Everything has been so crazy lately. Caleb and I-we got married. I wish I could say everything was perfect, but it's not. I mean I love him, but I still don't trust him. He's planning on ruining Rafe and Alison's marriage, and I don't like that idea. I guess I'm getting soft, huh? I just wish you were here to tell me everything was going to be ok, like always," she said as she started to get tired. She went and sat down in the chair, and before she knew it her eyes were closed and she had fell asleep.  
  
--------  
  
"Mom, you don't owe me any type of explanation."  
  
"Yes I do. If not for you, then at least for myself. I've finally faced a huge fear of mine while I was over there, and I have to share it with you."  
  
Alison's demeanor changed immediately so they walked over to some seats that were empty and sat down, "Ok, what is it?"  
  
"Remember the lady we saw in London? The one that called me Elizabeth Tripp? She's my cousin. The day you left she came back and saw me, which brought up a lot of bad memories from my childhood. Those made me think I can't love you the way you need to be loved sweetie."  
  
"Mom, I know you love me. What could have happened to think you didn't anymore?"  
  
She took a deep sigh, "When I was six I was abandoned by my mother. For the next ten years I was told that I wasn't loved, and because of that I would never find love. Then I met your father, and you know the rest," she said, realizing she was able to say everything without crying.  
  
---------  
  
"What in the Devil's name are you doing back?" demanded Gabby.  
  
"I'm doing very well, nice of you to ask. Anyone know the answer to my question?"  
  
"She left awhile ago with Rafe. She was really about to go into Karissa."  
  
"Yeah, that's what I heard. Any idea where she was headed too?"  
  
"Uhm, I think she's having Thanksgiving dinner with Kevin," guessed Casey.  
  
"So how are you doing Gabriella?"  
  
"A lot better when I thought you were still burning in Hell," she rolled her eyes at him. "So what destruction have you created in this town so far Caleb?"  
  
"Hmmm? Let's see, Frank, Jamal, Amanda Barrington, and Ian Thornhart are all vampires. Alison is pregnant with my child-and I finally married Olivia."  
  
"Caleb, how many times do we have to tell you-Alison is pregnant with RAFE'S CHILD-not yours sweetheart," smiled Casey. "As for married to Olivia, she seems to be closer to Jack now than ever," she chuckled out.  
  
-------  
  
"Wake up, baby." Those were the words Livvie heard as she felt a soft touch against her shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw Rachel standing there, "Mama," she cried as she jumped up and hugged her. "How can this be?"  
  
"Anything is possible sweetheart," she said giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm glad you came and visited me, I always enjoy your visits."  
  
"But you can't hear me, can you?"  
  
"I still can. So what is going on with you and Caleb exactly?"  
  
"There's this girl, her name is Karissa. He had her come to town to ruin Rafe and Alison, and for some reason I don't like this. I feel like it's wrong, I've been avoiding him, and not wanting to be around him lately."  
  
"Does he know this?"  
  
"Yes, but he still doesn't care. He thinks other things are more important than our love."  
  
"Well, if you show him love maybe he will change. Just don't give up Livvie, you and Caleb are meant to be-and I don't doubt that for a second. Be thankful for his love, and that you two can be together right now. Isn't that what today is all about?"  
  
"Yes it is, thank you," she said giving her mom a hug. Just then her eyes opened, and she realized she had been sleeping. Looking at the big clock on the wall she noticed she was supposed to be at Kevin's in thirty minutes. "Thank you again, Mama," she said giving her a kiss then rushing off to meet her dad.  
  
-------  
  
"Oh my," she said as she pulled her in for a hug, "You never had any love in your life, did you?" asked Alison.  
  
"No, I didn't. Melanie continually told me while I was in London this time that I didn't love you, and could never love you. I guess I finally started to accept that as the truth. That's when Reese and Jack decided to have Chris come and tell me otherwise."  
  
"Your childhoods are so similar."  
  
"Yes, they are," she said as she looked over to where Chris was standing, a huge smile on his face.  
  
"Well, I'm glad you told me all of this, and I'm so glad he was able to get you to come back to where you belong. We're having Thanksgiving at Lucy's in a little while, I hope you will come."  
  
"I wouldn't miss it for the world," she smiled as they met up with Chris, and left to get ready for dinner.  
  
--------  
  
"Everyone's a comedian."  
  
"Reese, are you going to eat with us?" asked Jack as he walked up to the conversation.  
  
"Who is us?" she said tapping her fingers on the table.  
  
"Barrington's, Ramsey's, Coe's, and Thornhart's-you fit in there somehow," he grinned.  
  
"Yeah, I guess so," she said getting up.  
  
"Well, we better go too," said Ricky as everyone else got up and left, leaving Caleb alone with three other patrons.  
  
"Well, this just bites," he said as he fell into the seat. He sat there for a minute, and then grabbed a napkin and started writing. 


	33. Chapter 33 Thanksgiving

A/N: Happy Thanksgiving! LOL-just for the show though (so I'm a week and a day behind-sue me. ;) Everyone have a good weekend, and if you are good I'll post a chapter this weekend. LOL. Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
--------  
  
"Let me get that," greeted Livvie as she took the tray from her father as she walked in the house.  
  
"You made it. I was thinking you wouldn't show up."  
  
"I went to see Mama, told her Happy Thanksgiving-and then I fell asleep. She came to me in the dream and her words-well they were inspiring."  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, as he put on his coat and headed out the door.  
  
"I will on the way over to Victor's," she said as he closed the door and they headed over to meet the rest of the Scanlon's for Thanksgiving dinner.  
  
--------  
  
"What's that?" asked Rafe as he put his arms around Alison's waist as she stood in Lucy's kitchen.  
  
"Pumpkin pie, and no you can't have any yet," she grinned. "Is everyone here?"  
  
"I think Jack and Reese just showed up," he sighed as he put his lips on her shoulder and watched her take a final look at her work.  
  
"Oh my goodness," she said as she got embarrassed, "I completely forgot to invite Reese. I guess I have to get used to having another family member," she said turning around with the pie in her hands. "Here, take this out and let me wash my hands. I'll be there in a minute."  
  
"Yes, ma'am," he responded to her command with a grin.  
  
-------  
  
"Monk," said Victor as he opened the door and gave his son a hug.  
  
"Hello, Victor. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!" he said, noticing that Gabby and Joe had been able to make it. "Hope we aren't too late, Livvie wanted to take a visit to see her mom."  
  
"No, Gabby and Joe just got here-they brought Ricky and Casey with them," said Mary as she brought out the turkey.  
  
"Oh good," he said as he pulled out a chair for Livvie next to him. "Do we want to say anything before we start?"  
  
"I think I would," said Victor. "I know we've all been through a lot this year, but we still have each other-and that's what should be most thankful for-don't you agree?"  
  
"I couldn't have said it better myself," said Frank as he looked at his son next to him.  
  
--------  
  
"Look at us all eating together as a family," smiled Lucy as she looked around at the table. Chris and Jack had joined them this year, and Amanda even made it out of the Mansion. "I was thinking we should each give one thing we're thankful for. Who wants to start?" she asked as nobody said anything, "Ok, I will. I am thankful that Kevin has made a full recovery from his accident. Elizabeth?"  
  
"I'm thankful for putting away past demons, and concentrating on my family," she said squeezing Alison's hand. "Chris?"  
  
"Uhm," he said trying to think of a good one, "I'm thankful that I was able to get Iris off my back," he said with Ian and Jack trying to hold in laughter. "Ian?"  
  
"Thankful for my son being able to live with me again. I guess its Jack's turn now."  
  
"I'm thankful that Frank has his son to raise now. It's amazing how he lives now, knowing he has a son to live for. Sorry, anyways-Reese?"  
  
"I guess knowing who my father is, not that I liked the outcome. Alison?" asked Reese, looking at her sister.  
  
"Oh geez. I have so much to be thankful for, but I guess most of all I'm thankful for the fact that in five and a half months I'll be bringing a child into this world," she said as she placed her hand on her stomach. "Rafe, what about you?"  
  
"That we are all still alive, despite Caleb being here," he said and then realized how bad that sounded. He was finally married to Alison and was going to be a father, and that's all he could think of. "Amanda, what about you?" he said trying to come up with something to get the stoplight off himself.  
  
"That my granddaughter is happy," she said smiling.  
  
"Well, let's eat," said Ian as he began to carve the tofu-turkey.  
  
--------  
  
"That was wonderful," said Kevin as he stretched his arms over his head.  
  
"Why thank you, Kevin. So are you back at the hospital?" asked Mary, as her and Kevin began a conversation.  
  
Livvie decided to help in the kitchen and started taking plates in. She was wiping off her plate when Gabby came in. She just looked up at her, and then back down at the plate.  
  
"I saw your husband earlier," said Gabby as she wiped off her plate.  
  
"Really? I bet that was the shock of a lifetime, huh?"  
  
"Yeah. I mean it's not everyday that you meet the man that hypnotized you into almost killing your brother."  
  
"You should have been around when I saw him, I mean I was totally flipping out. I was trying to use Jack as my bodyguard, flirting with him-did everything I could to try and make him admit that he was Caleb."  
  
"Oh yeah, he was going by the name of that rocker-Stephen Clay," she surmised from what Ricky was saying earlier about the band. "So what is up with you and Caleb anyways?"  
  
"He's up to no good, and until he tells me what it is, I won't have anything to do with him."  
  
"Well, why don't you just give up, and let him be mysterious. He'll let you know if he wants to."  
  
"Thanks for the advice," she said rolling her eyes as she went to get more dishes.  
  
-------  
  
"Is everything ok?" asked Elizabeth as she walked into the kitchen and saw Alison washing dishes.  
  
"Yeah, it's fine," she said not noticing what she was doing.  
  
"Then why are you washing a plate that is already clean?"  
  
"It's just what Rafe said earlier. He didn't say he was thankful we're going to have a child. It all goes back to Caleb again. What if he doesn't want a child even?" she asked as Lucy came into the kitchen.  
  
"My cousin doesn't want children? Now that's funny. Come in here for a minute," as her, Elizabeth and Alison went back into the living room. There in the chair, was Ian sleeping as soundly as Danny was. And sprawled out on the couch were Rafe and Christina. "Now does that look like a guy that doesn't want kids?" she asked.  
  
"Well no. Oh I wish I had my camera," she laughed at watching him. He was so cute when he slept, and with Christina lying next to him he was even cuter.  
  
"Don't worry, I already took a picture of both of them," she laughed.  
  
Just then Chris came up and gave Elizabeth a kiss on the cheek, "I've got to go. I'll call you later," he said walking away and over to the door.  
  
"Is it something at the hospital? Do we need to wake up Ian?" asked Lucy.  
  
"No, there's no reason to wake up Sleeping Beauty," he said as he closed the door.  
  
"Now that was odd," commented Elizabeth under her breath.  
  
-------- 


	34. Chapter 34

A/N: This chapter was one of my favorites to write because there is essentially no dialogue, which makes it easier for me (LOL). Anyways, everyone enjoy this-and if you have the song on CD or tape then why don't you hit play when you get to it.

Melody and Gracie-yes, I guess I have made Livvie more likable, and I am so ready for nice Livvie again. I wonder what I'll say the first time I see her kissing Jack-I'll probably start yelling at him to not trust her or something. LOL.

Until next time-ya'll really are the best-PCGirl.

* * *

"Did you enjoy your nap?" Alison laughed as they walked into the gym.

"Yeah, I did. Hey, I'm going to go for a short walk," he said. The comments Livvie made before kept going through his head, and he needed to sort them out before going back upstairs with Alison.

"Well, let me put the food up, and I'll join you, ok?"

"Would you mind if I went by myself? I need to sort some stuff out."

"Slayer stuff?" she asked, her mind thinking that he really doesn't care about her anymore.

"Yeah, some of that and other things too. I'll be back later, ok?" he said giving her a kiss.

"Ok," she sighed as she watched him head back out the door. "Wonder how long until you leave me for good," she said under her breath as she began walking up the steps.

* * *

Caleb let out a groan as he continued to stare at the paper. When he had been in the Elixir he had started to come up with a song, but since he came back to the loft nothing was coming to him. He read what he had already put down again,

_"You think you can escape me,  
You think you may finally win.  
Well, sweetheart I hate to tell you,  
But you can escape your own skin.  
When you look in someone else's eyes,  
I know all you see is me.  
So get over yourself,  
And accept the way it has to be."_

"Not too shabby," he smirked. "Now if I can just get a few more verses in," he said going back to trying to write, when the rest of the song came to him.

"I can't believe you are back here," said Jack as he walked into the Elixir from dinner at Lucy's. "How was dinner with the whole family?"

"I felt like an outsider. Figured this would be better than anywhere else. I went and saw my mom though before that."

"You haven't been there in awhile," he said, knowing that her mom meant the world to her at one point, and maybe if she could get over Caleb she would be again.

* * *

_(Musicbegins)_

We see Caleb sitting on the couch writing feverishly. He grabs his drink and takes another gulp. Gets up to go to the bar and pours him another. He then walks over to the window, and stares outside.

Rafe walks into Ian's apartment holding the picture of him and Alison in front of the sunset. He sits down on the couch looking at the picture, and then puts the picture on the floor, covering his face with his hands. The camera focuses onto him, and then goes down to the floor and focuses on Alison in the picture.

Livvie is sitting in the Elixir with a glass of wine. Jack is over helping other customers, and she's just staring out into oblivion. She reaches into her purse and pulls out her cell phone. Jack comes back over, and she gives him a weak smile, and places the phone back in her purse.

We see Alison, sitting on the bed folding some clothes up. While folding a shirt her eye wanders over to the chair, which has the stuffed kangaroo sitting in it. She goes over, picks up the kangaroo, then goes and lies down on the bed-holding the kangaroo tightly.

Caleb walks into the Elixir. Jack looks up and makes eye contact with him. Livvie then turns around to see Caleb, giving a smile. He walks past her, and goes over to a corner to sit.

Shot starts with the inside of the gym, with the lights off. The door opens, and Rafe walks in, turning the lights on. He goes and gets a pair of boxing gloves, and starts taking his frustration out on a punching bag. We see Alison walking down the stairwell, to see Rafe working out. She just watches him, tears coming down her face, then goes back upstairs.

Back at the Elixir Caleb is sitting there staring at Livvie. It's obvious that she's trying to not watch him. Right as Caleb gets up to talk to her, Jack and Livvie leave. He goes and sits back down. Then we see Rafe finishing up his frustration. He starts to leave the gym again, but then walks up the stairs. At the last two lines of the song, we see Rafe knock on the apartment door, it open and he pulls Alison into a hug.


	35. Chapter 35

A/N: Ya'll are too smart. I'm not going to babble because I want you to hurry up and read this. Until next time-PCGirl.

* * *

"I thought you left," she said as she looked up at him, tears starting to fall from her eyes. His hand went up to her face, and wiped away the tears, "I can never leave you," he said placing a kiss on her lips. As he took in the moment what he had been expecting to happen did, all the love he had for her still remained, was still as strong as ever. He pulled out of the kiss and took a look at her, "Alison," he sighed.

"What?" she said, scared that this was a trick or she was dreaming.

"Will you forgive me?"

"For what?"

"For not realizing that you had no part in that night. I should have trusted you, I always have-I don't know why I didn't this time. I want us to start our life together right now-me and you, nobody else matters. Of course, if you say no, then I will understand."

She didn't say anything, just put down her head, and could tell he was getting nervous. Finally she looked up at him, "Rafe, what has happened the past month was huge. We lost each other, and I just want to know one thing first."

* * *

"Were you serious earlier?" she asked as they walked into Ricky's apartment from dinner. 

"About what?"

"About leaving this town," she said walking over and sitting on the arm of the couch. "Me and you out on the road-going wherever it takes us."

"Yeah, but I figured you'd want to stay here," he shrugged off.

"Why? Jack seems to be doing fine, Jamal has left-there's nothing holding us back now, baby," she said taking his hands.

* * *

Elizabeth walked up to the door, and could hear the music coming from the other side. As she opened the door she heard the lyrics from the radio.

* * *

"What's that, Alison?" 

"Will you forgive me for sleeping with him?" she said biting her lip. If his answer was no then she wasn't sure what she would do.

He took a big sigh, and walked over to the bed and sat down on the edge looking at her, "Come here," he said motioning her in front of him. She walked slowly over, her eyes filling with tears at what was about to be said. He took her hands in his, and held them together and kissed them both, "Alison, whatever happened that night is in the past. At first I thought that because I didn't know about that night I couldn't love you the same amount. I was so wrong because I've always loved you the same.

"When we first made love, I loved you with all my heart. When I didn't even know who you were because of Livvie-I still loved you with everything I had. And these past few weeks, even when I tried to make myself not want to love you the same amount, it was impossible.

"I remember this little promise we made each other on that boat in Sydney Harbor. We promised that the past was the past, and the future was all that mattered. Anyways, right now let's remake that promise to each other, ok?"

"You have a really weird way of saying you forgive me," she said with a laugh. "But ok," she said as she took a deep breath.

"Right now," they both started at the same time, almost knowing what the other was going to say, "I'm going to promise this to you. Whatever has happened in the past with us, then that is in the past. All that matters is us, and whatever the future may bring. I love you, always have and always will."

* * *

"What about Rafe? You came here saying that you thought the reason you were here was to help him get through the stuff going on with Alison. I can't believe you are willing to just abandon your fellow ex-angel." 

"I don't think he needs me after tonight," she smiled. "So what do you say? You've got money still from the Stephen Clay gig, so until we can find some other type of income we'll live off that. You know, I remember us talking about going to the big city once. Now is the perfect opportunity. There's nothing holding us back."

"I guess this is it then, goodbye Port Charles, hello wherever," he said as she jumped up into his arms and he spun her around.

* * *

"Chris?" she hollered over the music as she walked in and closed the door. The lights were dimmed, and he had some candles set out, "You never struck me as a candle person," she thought as she sat down her purse. She had gone back to her hotel room after dinner at Lucy's when he called, said it was important. 

He came walking in from the kitchen, singing off key to the song, "Elizabeth," he stopped in mid word, embarrassed that he had been caught. "I didn't hear you come in."

"How could you with the music so loud?" she said turning the volume down. "So you wanted me to come over?"

"Yeah, I just thought it might be nice."

"So what's up with the candles?"

"Well, I wanted to set the mood," he said as he pulled her close to him.

"The mood?" she said raising an eye brow.

* * *

He moved his hands behind her neck, enjoying the touch of her skin, as he began to play with her hair. He could feel his heart beating faster, as if this were the first time the two of them had ever made love. It was in a way though, this was a new beginning for both of them, and this was a ride they would never forget. 

She had missed his kiss so much lately. Sure they had kissed, but nothing like this since London. With each kiss, and each touch he was pulling her into a world of passion. Her mind was starting to blur, and any thoughts she had were now gone-not to reemerge until the morning.

When she stopped kissing him for a second he looked at her, "What's wrong?" he asked softly.

"Nothing, absolutely nothing," she smiled, as the two fell back in love that night.

* * *

"Alright, I've got us set," he said coming back from being on the telephone. He saw her sitting on the couch, holding a drink in her hand just staring into oblivion. "Hey, you aren't having second thoughts are you?" 

"No, it's not that. I was just thinking I should say goodbye to Rafe, and you should probably say bye to Jack and Reese. You know, just to let them know what's up."

"Yeah, I guess we should do that. But, Jamal did leave without giving us any warning."

"But Rafe-he's different. He's been through stuff upstairs with me, and I just have to tell him bye. Who knows when the next time we'll see each other," she said looking upward. "I can't believe I've been given a second chance. When he got his, I was happy for him, but sad because I thought I'd never get one."

"But you did, and you get to spend it all with me baby."

* * *

"We were dancing around each other for months before you went to London, and I don't want to miss this chance." His speech was interrupted though as she began kissing him. And as they fell onto the couch together the song finished playing in the background. 


	36. Chapter 36

A/N: I've been told this is classic Rali, so I present to you, for your reading pleasure Breaking Point: Classic Rali. This is for the Awians, and all the other Rali fans out there, a little dose of Rali never hurt anyone. Until next time-ya'll are truly the best-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
She just laid there in his arms, her heart rate slowly returning to normal. She looked up, seeing a grin on his face, "What are you thinking about?" she said as she snuggled closer into him.  
  
"I was thinking about kangaroos."  
  
"What?" she said with a laugh.  
  
"Kangaroos. Well, them and the rest of the honeymoon," he said as he started to play with her hair.  
  
"Any particular moment during the honeymoon?" asked Alison.  
  
"Hmmm," he said as he began to think. "Yes, I believe it started with when we got back from the dinner cruise. You were wearing that off-white dress."  
  
"Ahh, yes," she said as her mind went back to that place. "And I believe you insisted on carrying me over the threshold."  
  
"Well, yeah because you had already come into the room when I had to lug all the bags up by myself."  
  
"That's true. But you wouldn't put me down for anything. You carried me all the way to the bed. And then," she sighed.  
  
"Yes, then I went and made a nice relaxing bath. I wonder if we can ever get that large of a tub in this apartment."  
  
"I doubt it," she laughed. "Mmm, that was the best week of my life," she said snuggling into him more. "I just realized something else."  
  
"Want to share?"  
  
"Yes I do, and I'm a little upset with you about it," her voice carrying a hint of seriousness in it. "When we came home from London, you never carried me over the apartment threshold. I mean you did it on our wedding night at the Bed and Breakfast and in Sydney, but not here."  
  
"You are absolutely right," he said letting go of Alison and getting out of the bed. "Come here," he said standing over on the bed with nothing but his boxers on.  
  
"Rafe, I'm not wearing anything under this sheet, remember?"  
  
"Then bring the sheet with you," he said as she finally gave into his antics and got up. "Now come on," he said as they went outside and shut the door behind them. He picked her up and held her as he tried to open the door. "Uh oh."  
  
"What do you mean by 'uh oh'?" asked Alison as she let go of one hand to try and open the door herself. The knob didn't turn though, they were locked out. "What are we going to do now?" she said looking at him.  
  
--------  
  
"Rafe, did you find the key yet?" she asked as she sat at the top of the steps. He had thought there was an extra key downstairs, so he was going to search for it.  
  
"No, but come down here," he yelled from the bottom.  
  
"Why haven't you turned on the lights yet?" she asked as she walked down the steps. "Oh my," she gasped as she saw he had lit candles everywhere. "Where did you get this?" she said noticing he now wore a suit jacket with his boxers.  
  
"Oh, this?" he said tugging at the jacket. "It was in the car."  
  
"You went outside in the freezing cold in nothing but your boxers? I mean I'm sure you were cold, but I think you look sillier now with a suit jacket and boxers on."  
  
"But you see, I'm thinking right now I'm in a full suit," he smiled as he walked up to her. "And you, you aren't wearing a sheet, but a strapless evening gown."  
  
"Alright, I'll play along with you," she said happy to forget about being locked out of the apartment for a few minutes. "Then where are we?" she said looking around at the candles and the romantic mood that had been set.  
  
"Anywhere you want to be, just use your imagination and we are there."  
  
"Fine, we are in a huge ballroom, but the ball is almost over-it's just us two left. The only lighting in the room is the candles on the tables. We're standing in the middle of the dance floor," she said grabbing his hands as she guided herself backwards and he followed.  
  
"Doing what?" he said with an arched eyebrow, wondering where this was going.  
  
"Dancing, or about to because the band is just getting ready to start up again," she said as she watched him go over and turn on the radio-which luckily was set to a classic music station. "May I have this dance, Mrs. Kovich?" asked Rafe as he held out his hand.  
  
"Yes you may, Mr. Kovich," she smiled as she took his hand. His hand went around her waist and pulled her tight, as they began to dance slowly around the Gym.  
  
-------  
  
Alison's head was on his chest and as they slowly continued to dance she was falling asleep.  
  
"Are you hungry?" asked Rafe who could hear her stomach making noises.  
  
"A little," she said with a yawn.  
  
"Here let me put you on the couch and I'll see what I can find," he said as he walked her over to the couch and she laid down on it. He walked over to the bowl of fruit which was looking a little skimpy and started digging. He picked up an orange and just laughed, "I found the key," he smiled looking at her and seeing she was fast asleep.  
  
He went up the steps, and unlocked and opened the door. Then he went back downstairs and knelt by the couch, "Alison, sweetie," he said as he tried to get her to wake up. All he got was a mumble and slight glance. "I found the key, let's go to bed," he said as she sat up. He went and blew out all the candles and turned off the music. He then led a half-sleeping Alison up the stairs. When they got to the top of the stairs he scooped her up and carried her into the apartment, shutting the door behind him with his foot. 


	37. Chapter 37

A/N: Sorry there's been so few updates this week. I started my yearly holiday job at Toys R Us, and you can just imagine how I've felt after working there. I'll try and post at least another chapter this weekend. Until next time-A very tired PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
The ringing phone woke him out of a dead slumber, and he had to slowly try and release Alison's grip around him as he got up out the bed-his eyes still closed as he felt for the phone, "Hello?" he grumbled.  
  
"Are you still asleep?" laughed Casey on the other end.  
  
"What time is it?" he asked as he finally opened his eyes to see Alison lying on her stomach, the sheet covering only the lower half of her back.  
  
"Ten o'clock."  
  
"Yeah, I guess I slept in a little late," he grinned, remembering the night before. "So what's up, Casey?"  
  
"I was just wondering, if you weren't busy, if you could meet me in about an hour."  
  
"Yeah, let me get a shower, and I'll meet you. Where though?"  
  
"The overlook is fine. See ya later."  
  
"I'll be there," he said hanging up the phone. He would leave Alison a note, and then be back before she knew it.  
  
--------  
  
She slowly rolled over and then came to the realization of where she was, "Chris," she said looking up and not seeing him around. "Chris!" she yelled louder, thinking he may be in the kitchen.  
  
"Hey, you're awake," he said as he came in with a cup of coffee.  
  
"For me?" she asked as she took it from his hands.  
  
"Well, actually no-it was for me, but you can have it. I'm running late for work anyways. Let yourself out, ok?" he said as he turned to leave.  
  
"Chris, wait. You aren't leaving because of last night, are you?"  
  
---------  
  
Yesterday three people, including her mom in a dream, told her to give up getting the truth out of Caleb and go back to him. Maybe they were right- fine they were all right. So she got up from Jack's couch, and went to get a cup of tea. Jack had left for a few errands, and would be back later. When he did, they were going to get Caleb out of the loft, and take out the cameras down. She went to unplug the monitor when her eye caught Caleb. He looked so sexy, and she definitely missed him. He was walking over to the door and opened it, "Busted," she said as she watched him bring Karissa inside. She grabbed her jacket and was out the door-leaving the monitor on.  
  
----------  
  
"So what's going on?" asked Rafe as he walked up behind Casey. She seemed to be taking note of the city pretty diligently. "Is there something you know about what Caleb's up to?"  
  
"No, this has nothing do with Caleb. Ricky and I have decided to leave this town."  
  
"Really? That's great. I mean you have nothing to hold you back this time, no guardian angel job, no trying to figure out who the fifth chair was. Go for it."  
  
"Thanks," she smiled. "We spent most of the night packing stuff up, we'll probably be leaving later this afternoon. But you know me and you-we'll always have that angel bond."  
  
"Oh yeah, of course we will. But we shouldn't see each other up there for at least seventy years."  
  
"Why not one hundred?" she shrugged.  
  
"But we can still stay in touch down here. If you ever need someone to talk to."  
  
"You're my man."  
  
-----  
  
"No, last night was wonderful. I'm just really late for work," he said looking at his watch again.  
  
"Ok, good. Because I was worried that after everything from last night that our friendship would change, and you are a really good friend, Chris."  
  
"You are a good friend too Elizabeth. Now can I please get to work?" he begged.  
  
"I suppose so," she sighed as he began to walk out of the room, and then did a 180 in the hall and returned again.  
  
"What is it?" he said with frustration in his voice.  
  
"I'm just worried that you don't like me now."  
  
--------  
  
"What brings you here, again?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. This was getting old, and he hadn't heard anything about Rafe and Alison getting further apart-actually he thought that they might have got through everything, with no help to her.  
  
"I just wanted to say I missed you," she said walking towards him. "I figured that you and Livvie hadn't been together in quiet sometime, and if you ask nicely then maybe I'll help you relieve that stress," she finished by placing her lips against him.  
  
"Ahem," said Livvie as she stood at the door, watching her husband kissing this tramp.  
  
-------  
  
"Hey, remember that question you asked me at the barn? The one where you asked would I have stayed up there if I had known what was going to happen this past year?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"You knew the answer already, didn't you?"  
  
"Of course," she said as they hugged.  
  
"Never forget why you got your second chance, Casey," he said in the embrace.  
  
"I won't," she said as they pulled out and just looked at each other. "Peace out," she said as she started to walk backwards with a smile.  
  
"Bye, Casey," he said as he watched her leave. He thought about going back home, but then decided to stop by Ian's and pick up the picture he left there the night before.  
  
---------  
  
"Listen to me Elizabeth. I am not leaving right now because I don't like you. I'm leaving because I have a job-and have to be there in five minutes. It takes me fifteen minutes to get to the hospital, get a parking spot, and get in the building. So can you PLEASE let me leave?"  
  
"Someone didn't have their coffee this morning," she said as she took a sip of his.  
  
"Because you are drinking it. I'll see you tonight, ok?"  
  
"Fine," she said as she continued to sit in his bed as he left. "I'll just have to go and see what Iris is up to later," she smiled.  
  
--------  
  
"Olivia," said Caleb as he pulled away from Karissa. "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Well, it is my home also, dear husband. I've got a better question though, but it's for our little tramp here," she said walking over to where Karissa was standing. "What are you doing here with my husband?"  
  
"It wasn't anything, Livvie. I swear it wasn't," she begged, knowing the truth was just the opposite. When they finally realized what she was up to it would be too late.  
  
"Looked like something from the door when I walked in." Her emotions were running away, and she wasn't sure what to do just then. She looked over at Caleb, and though there was regret in his eyes, it didn't seem like he completely hated that kiss. She started to think what else the kiss may have led to, and it caused her to start crying. With tears in her eyes, she turned and ran, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Caleb sighed, he should go running after her. "You-out of my place-NOW!" he ordered Karissa, as she decided to obey his command and leave. 


	38. Chapter 38

A/N: Let me say my feet are killing me, and when I got home tonight my brain felt like mashed potatoes, but I still think you all are the best in the world. I am determined to post more than ever, because I know we all need a little PC in our life-at least until December 29th when we get to enjoy the second half of it all over again. Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
PS. Here's a little PC humor for all-today, my second customer purchased a game that had me grinning on the inside. The name of it? Vampire Hunter. I guess Rafe and Caleb followed me to work today. LOL. Now on with the show!  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Rafe whistled as he came around the corner of the hallway, he was happy for Casey but he knew he'd miss her. Who else could keep him reasonably sane? Well, besides from Alison and Lucy. He heard crying from inside the apartment, and unlocked the door quickly. "Karissa?" he said seeing her sitting on the couch. "How'd you get in here?"  
  
"Last night I came to talk to you, and the door was unlocked so I let myself in. Oh it's so horrible Rafe."  
  
"What? What's so horrible?" he said looking at her.  
  
"I got a call, the Bed and Breakfast burned down. What am I going to do? My whole livelihood has gone up in flames," she said as she went to get a hug from him. Through her fake tears a glint of evil could be seen in her eyes.  
  
---------  
  
He sat on the steps of the house waiting for her. He knew she was coming back, and he was ready to comfort her. After Livvie had left Caleb's he had turned off the monitor, though he was curious to see what the man was going to do next. He looked up and saw her standing there with a tear stained face, "Jack," she said as he pulled her close to him, and let her continue her sobbing.  
  
--------  
  
Alison rolled over to see the note that Rafe had left her, "Angel, Casey wanted me to meet with her. I'll be back before you know it. I love you, and the little one too. Rafe."  
  
She just laid there in the bed, not ready to get up when an idea hit her. She decided to get up, and call Lucy to meet her later. There was something she needed to prove, for everyone involved, and it couldn't wait until Rafe got home.  
  
----------  
  
"Hey, it's going to be alright, ok?" he said as he softly pushed her out of the hug. Alison's words kept ringing through his head, and he wondered if her business really did burn down last night-or if she even owned a Bed and Breakfast.  
  
"I've got some money set aside, but I just don't think I can go on," she said sitting back down.  
  
"Listen, I'll help you out, but first I've got to go back to my apartment. Stay here if you'd like, I know Ian won't mind any," he said as he grabbed the sunset picture and headed back out the door.  
  
---------  
  
She was sitting up in Jack's bed, tired of crying and tired of wanting him so bad. Jack walked in with a cup of tea, "Thought this might help you relax a little," he said handing it to her.  
  
"No, nothing will make me relax," she said putting the cup on the bedside table. "Come here, Jack," she said patting the edge of the bed.  
  
"What is it?" he said sitting down next to her.  
  
She didn't say anything though, just pulled him towards her in a kiss. She didn't care anymore, and if cheating on Caleb was what she felt like doing nobody was going to stop her. As she continued to kiss him, and Jack moved onto the bed over her she heard Caleb's voice call her. "I can't do this," she screamed as she pushed him off and ran out of the room.  
  
She was almost to the door when she decided she'd turn on the monitor to check up on Caleb. When she flicked it on she saw Karissa standing in the living room holding a red negligee up to her body. Livvie almost wished there was audio to the recording, but then figured maybe that was a good thing. "And people call me a slut," she said flipping the monitor off and then going back to Jack.  
  
---------  
  
"So how does this look?" asked Karissa as she put the negligee up to her.  
  
"It looks fine," he said rubbing his eyes. He had hoped Olivia would come back to him already, but she hadn't. This little twit was supposed to be ruining Rafe's marriage, not his. "Where'd you get that thing anyways?" he asked, out of morbid curiosity.  
  
"It was in a drawer at the apartment. I found it after he had left to go back to his place."  
  
"Wait? It wasn't his place over the Gym?"  
  
"No, it was this place on the second floor at an apartment building near the hospital. He mentioned someone named Ian."  
  
"Eve's," he said answering his question. Ian must have kept it at the apartment. "Listen," he said pulling out some cash and handing it to her, "Take this money, and go buy something of your own. Put this back wherever you found it," as he escorted her out the door and sat back on the couch, "Olivia, where are you?" he said closing his eyes and trying to concentrate on something other than women and lingerie right now.  
  
-----------  
  
"Alright, Mrs. Kovich," said Dr. Landrum as he began the test. Alison wished she had gotten a hold of Rafe before coming to the hospital, but she had to find out the results before telling him. She had closed her eyes when she heard the door open, and gave a smile to Lucy.  
  
"Hey there, cousin," said Lucy as she pulled up and chair and took a hold of Alison's hand. "After today, everything else is going to be smooth sailing, trust me."  
  
"I hope so. God, I hope so," she said as the doctor finished the test and went to go read the results. 


	39. Chapter 39

A/N: Gracie-privately e-mail me at kamcsoap@aol.com to tell me what you think you've figured out about Karissa-I won't tell you if you are right or not, but I'd like to see what you think is going on with her. Nat-I'm still updating a lot because I've got chapters saved up for 2 weeks (so about 10 chapters right now are waiting to be published) LOL-good Livvie? Melody-I still want Caleb and Livvie together. Livvie and Jack were great, and I can't wait to relive it through the arcs again, but Caleb and Livvie were definitely something different and something worth watching.  
  
Ok, on with the show. Until next time-ya'll are the best-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Rafe? Are you here?" asked Alison as she opened the door. She hadn't been able to reach him on his cell phone, so she figured he may have come by to get his belongings. "Well you must be in here somewhere," she said taking off her coat and putting it on the couch. The door was unlocked, and it wasn't like him to leave Ian's apartment and not lock the door.  
  
When she got to the bedroom she gave out a gasp, Karissa was sleeping on the bed in a nude colored negligee. Her first thought was to confront her, but then she remembered what Ian had said about trying to limit the stress she put on the baby and left-leaving her coat still on the couch.  
  
--------  
  
"I'm home," yelled Chris as he walked into his place and looked around to not see Elizabeth. "Elizabeth? Are you here?" he said then figuring she wasn't he went and sat down at the station he had set up. He heard her walk up behind him, "Hey, why didn't you say anything when I came in?" he asked turning around and seeing a not so happy Elizabeth in front of him. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you were sleeping around while I was gone? I mean it's not that I care, it's not like we're an item or anything I would just like to know why you felt it wasn't necessary to tell me."  
  
----------  
  
"This is getting old," said Jamal as he packed up a bag. For the past two months when the full moon got close he would go get another hotel room for a few days, and then come back when she said it was safe. Between that and running to a new town every time Imani felt him getting close he hadn't had a chance to breathe, much less call Jack and make sure everything was ok.  
  
"Jamal we have to leave now," said Imani as she came running in the room, and slamming the door shut. "I feel like he's really close, and will be here soon."  
  
"You know what? We're not going to run this time, I've had it up to here with running," he said as he gave her a quick kiss and left.  
  
"What are you doing, Jamal?" she worried, wondering if she should just leave him.  
  
-----------  
  
She was banging on the door for a few minutes when Jack finally answered, "What's wrong Alison?" he asked as he brought her inside.  
  
"I found out some great news," she said between shivering and crying. "The baby is definitely Rafe's."  
  
"Then why are you so upset? And where is your coat during this time of year?" As he started the interrogation Livvie came from the back room. "What's going on?" she said sitting down next to Alison.  
  
"Well, my baby isn't Caleb's. I'm sure you're happy about that. I went to tell Rafe, and saw Karissa in this negligee lying on the bed."  
  
"Did she see you?"  
  
"No, she didn't. So, can I ask you what you are doing here?" she said, ready to get the attention off herself. Jack put a blanket around her shoulders, as Livvie told her what had occurred earlier in the day, and that she saw Karissa later holding up a negligee to Caleb. Alison held the blanket tightly as she went and turned on the monitor, and began sitting there and watching Caleb's every move.  
  
----------  
  
"What are you talking about?" asked Chris, having no idea where this was going.  
  
"I talked to Iris today. She told me about her walking in here and you making out with some blonde on the couch. So who was she exactly?"  
  
"She wasn't a she at all. She was Jack," he said as a look of shock came over her face.  
  
----------  
  
"So no questions asked, right?" asked Jamal as he stood in the alleyway behind the pawn shop. "And if anyone comes by asking if you sold a gun?"  
  
"The gun was stolen from my shop a few months ago," said the man. "Can I help you with anything else?"  
  
"No sir, unless you can tell me where to get some silver bullets."  
  
---------  
  
Where could she be? He had spent half the day looking for Alison-he went to Lucy's, her mom's, he'd even tried Chris Ramsey's for some unknown reason. When he talked to Lucy she was surprised that Alison hadn't found him yet, but to call when he did-whatever that meant. He decided to go back to Ian's and tell Karissa to get out. When he opened the door he saw Alison's coat on the couch, and went running back to the bedroom, "Alison!" he yelled as he saw Karissa sleeping on the bed. "Get up now!" he demanded, his anger getting out of control now.  
  
"I'm sorry, Rafe. I must have been so tired earlier. I didn't mean to fall asleep like that," she said, trying to act innocent.  
  
"Well, you did, and now you can leave. That's the only reason I came over here anyways-to tell you to leave. I'm sorry your business burned down, but I've got a wife and child to deal with. I'm sure you'll end up back on your feet, you always have. And now I have to find out where Alison went, her coat is here though."  
  
"I hope she didn't happen to walk in on me earlier, and get the wrong impression."  
  
"She'll understand when I see her," he said slamming the door in her face. "Now, I've just have to figure out where she might be," he said as he went to call the hospital to make sure she wasn't there.  
  
---------  
  
Alison had been sitting at the monitor for awhile when she looked over at Livvie, "Do you see it?" she asked.  
  
"See what? All he's been doing is sitting on the couch, and writing on a notepad."  
  
"He loves you Livvie, and he misses you."  
  
"You are starting to sound like Tess," she laughed out. "Anyways, if he really wanted me, he'd know where I was."  
  
"Maybe he's tired of running. Maybe he just wants you to come home," she sighed then getting out of the chair.  
  
"Where are you going?" she asked.  
  
"Back home, I'm tired of running too. I know Rafe didn't sleep with her, and I know he didn't want to-there's no reason for me not to be around him."  
  
"Alright, here take my jacket-it's too cold outside for you to be out there without one," she said handing it to her, and then turning off the monitor for a bit.  
  
--------  
  
"You were making out with your brother? Chris, you really need to see a therapist. I think Kevin is back at the hospital."  
  
"NO! I was not making out with my brother. You see, Iris was all interested in me-like physically interested in me. And no matter what I said, or did, or what Jack said to her the woman wouldn't listen. She was driving me crazy Elizabeth. So, I went and bought a red dress and blonde wig, and had Jack put it on. So when Iris came walking in she saw me kissing-which I only kissed him once-a blonde."  
  
Elizabeth just looked at him as she tried to comprehend the story. She then walked over to the bar, "I need a drink. And you-I better not hear about you and Jack making out anymore."  
  
"You don't have to worry about that, he's not great of a kisser anyways," he said as he went back to work.  
  
--------  
  
"Alison," sighed Rafe as he opened the door and saw her standing in the kitchen. He went over and held her tight, "I'm so glad I finally found you."  
  
She just smiled, never realizing he may have been worried as to where she was, "I'm fine. We're fine," she said as she took his palm and placed it against her stomach. "Rafe, the baby is yours," as her eyes filled up tears.  
  
"I never doubted that for a second. Did you?"  
  
"I didn't, but I just wanted to make sure," she said as they kissed.  
  
---------  
  
"Silver bullets? What are you planning on doing-killing a werewolf?"  
  
"Hey, no questions asked."  
  
"Well come inside and I'll see what I can do," he said as he motioned Jamal in through the back door. 


	40. Chapter 40

A/N: I've got something serious to discuss first. I've got a story building in my head for another arc to write. My question is though-does anyone want to hear it? I mean I know we never want the show to die, but writing Breaking Point has taken a lot of time, and I don't know if I can put as much time into a second arc. (did you know that Breaking Point in a word document is so far 110 pages long?) So I just want to hear a voice of the people-do the people want another arc? Because if you do then I'll write it. Of course, I may write it no matter what. LOL.  
  
Onto personal messages: Gracie-interesting theory. Melody-she's not pregnant. I've actually found a rather large loop hole to let her get pregnant though, and it would come out in the next arc. Nat-it's about time you wrote a few more chapters. They were beautiful, and I understand the fact that we don't always have the time we want to write.  
  
I think that's all. Until next time-ya'll are the greatest-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"I'm shocked you are still here," said Jack as he came into the living room to see Livvie waking up on the couch.  
  
"Come on Jack, you aren't still mad at me? I told you I was sorry," she said as she covered her eyes with the palm of her hand. They had this argument last night until the wee hours when he finally gave up and went to bed.  
  
"Livvie, you almost slept with me again last night. I mean if Alison hadn't came to the door you would have, and you don't even care. I can't believe I'm being pulled back into your whacked out universe."  
  
"Jack! I am not trying to pull you into my universe, or web of deceit, or whatever you call it next time. Alison did us a favor, I almost used you Jack-and I know that's not what you want. I thought you'd be happy, but instead you are all mister grumpity-umpity."  
  
--------  
  
"Where have you been?" asked Imani as she jumped up and ran to hug Jamal. "You never came home last night, and I was worried Paul may have come after you. The least you could have done was call."  
  
"Hey, everything's alright now though, ok?"  
  
"I guess so," she said as she continued to stay in his arms. As her hands went down his back she felt something at the back of his shirt. "What is this?" she said as she looked at him.  
  
----------  
  
"Hi," he smiled as he came back from the bathroom and saw her sitting on the bed with a book opened in her lap. "What are you looking at?"  
  
"Baby names," she smiled. "How does Houston sound?"  
  
He tried to hold in the laughter, "You can't be serious."  
  
"Why not? It's unique."  
  
"That's for sure," he said as he crawled onto the bed and snuggled up next to her. "Why don't we look at girl names?"  
  
"You think it's a girl?" she asked. Lately she'd been thinking it was a boy, it never dawned on her she may be wrong.  
  
"Well, we'll have to have a girls named picked out anyways. There is no way I'm naming my daughter Houston."  
  
"Actually, I was joking about Houston, and I've already got the boy's named picked out," she said very matter of factly.  
  
"Really? Want to share that with the father-to-be?"  
  
"Edward Grant," she said, watching the expression in his eyes go from curiosity to all out surprise.  
  
--------  
  
"It's nothing really," he said backing away from her. The last thing he wanted was an upset werewolf on his hands.  
  
"Seriously Jamal, I need to know where you were, and what that is tucked in the back of your jeans."  
  
"Promise you won't start going on and on about it?"  
  
"I promise," she said as a smile came to her face. The smile quickly vanished as he pulled out the gun and showed it to her. "What are you going to do with that?"  
  
--------  
  
Livvie jumped off the couch and walked straight up to him. She took her hand and placed it at the back of his neck, softly touching his skin, "Is this what you want Jack?" she said as her voice got low and sweet. "Because if it is then just let me know," she said smiling.  
  
"NO! This isn't what I want at all," he screamed pushing her away.  
  
"Then stop acting like you want it. You have to make a decision-what do you want Jack?"  
  
"I want a shower," he said walking back to his room.  
  
--------  
  
"I've been doing a little research to find out Ed's last name without you knowing," she grinned at him.  
  
"Have I told you how amazing you are?" he said kissing her.  
  
"Not today," she grinned. "Seriously, we have to figure out a girl's name though, just in case."  
  
"Hmmm," he said as with his lips against her shoulder.  
  
"Focus, my dear," she said as she flipped to the female part of the book. She closed her eyes and pointed, "What name am I pointing to?" she asked him, still not opening her eyes, but all she heard was laughter. "What's so funny?" she said opening them and seeing her finger was on the name Olivia. "Uhm, let's try that again," she said, again closing her eyes and pointing. This time the laughter stopped, and she thought he wasn't even breathing, "Rafe? What's it say?"  
  
He let out a loud cough before saying the name very quietly, "Katrina."  
  
--------  
  
"What do you think I'm going to do with this?"  
  
"Jamal, you can't just shoot him and he'll be dead. The only way to kill him is with silver bullets."  
  
"Where do you think I was all night?" he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out five bullets. "I went to this pawn shop, one of those seedy 'no ask-no tell' types. The guy gave me the gun, and then I bought some silver and went to a guy who was willing to melt it down into some bullets."  
  
"So now what?"  
  
"Now I'll just wait until Monday, and then call him out. This man is not going to make us run anymore. And that is a promise I will keep."  
  
---------  
  
"Livvie, I've made up my mind," he said as he finished buttoning up his black shirt while he walked back to the living room. He looked around and saw she had folded the blankets and pillows up on the couch. He walked over to the window and saw her car was gone, "I guess you've made up your mind on what you want too," he said as he went to finish getting ready for work.  
  
---------  
  
"Are you serious?" she said as her eyes flew open and she looked down on the page. This was amazing, how could she have picked that name out of the thousands in this book. "Well, I guess that's settled," she said looking down at her stomach and speaking, "Little Kate or Eddie-whoever is in mommy's tummy-listen up because we both love you very much. Isn't that right Dad?" she said looking at Rafe.  
  
"You just called yourself Mommy and me Dad. Do you realize we're really going to be parents?" he said in astonishment.  
  
"Yes dear," she said kissing him. "Now give some words of wisdom to the baby."  
  
He coughed, trying to put on a serious voice. He laid down, with his head in her lap and his face towards her stomach, "I'm not sure these are words of wisdom, but I want to tell you about someone. You've had a little time to get to know her already, she's your Mom. Now Kate, Eddie, I want you to know how wonderful she is. She has always put her own safety ahead of others, even if it were dangerous. I know she's going to be the same way with you, and whatever you do in life she'll be proud of you, just like I will be," he said kissing her stomach, and then looking up to see tears in her eyes. He wiped them away, and came up to kiss her, "I love you, Alison."  
  
"I love you," she said, and though it was too early in the pregnancy she would have sworn she felt a little flutter in her stomach just then. 


	41. Chapter 41

A/N: This is a short relatively boring chapter-I'll post another one when I get home from work tomorrow. And to answer the question-I think I'm writing another story, but I've got to figure out how to write it first. Oh yeah-Gracie, I used the name Edward Grant before in my other stories, but I can just see them naming the little girl Katrina. Until next time- PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Elizabeth walked out from Chris' room and towards the door carrying a suitcase. She didn't say much, just left him to keep diligently working on Ian's cure. It was the sound of the doorknob that caught Chris' attention, and he turned around to see her holding the doorknob, "Hey, where are you going?" he asked noticing the suitcase.  
  
"Back to my hotel room--," she said then being interrupted.  
  
"Wait, stop Elizabeth. I know I've been busy the past few days with the research, but I'm getting so close I can taste it. So just put your stuff back in my room, and I'll be there in a few minutes."  
  
"But--."  
  
"No buts," he said as he then got up and took her suitcase from her hands and marched to the bedroom.  
  
-------  
  
"Alright, I think I've got everything," said Jamal as he looked around.  
  
"I really don't like this idea," sighed Imani for the hundredth time today.  
  
"I know, but we've got to do this Imani. We can't just run from him forever. Make sure you lock this door after me. I don't want to get two wolves confused and shoot you by accident."  
  
"What do you want me to do if you don't come back in the morning?"  
  
Jamal took a gulp, he hadn't thought about that possibility. He grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down a telephone number quickly, "This is Jack's number, call him and let him know. Wait a few days though before calling him just in case I get to come back."  
  
"Ok," she said as she held him tight, the paper wadded into her fist.  
  
-------  
  
"That was awfully nice of you," she said as he walked back in to see her arms crossed at her chest.  
  
"Elizabeth, I want to say this. I've been enjoying having you around the apartment the past few days, and I really was hoping you had too. Now if you haven't, I'll understand."  
  
"Chris, I have been enjoying being here very much."  
  
"Then why leave? Is it my cooking? I mean I know not everyone enjoys the fine delicacy of Ramen Noodles, but I think I can change."  
  
"You are too sweet," she said giving him a kiss, then walking past him.  
  
"Where are you going now?"  
  
"To get my suitcase," she said then leaving.  
  
---------  
  
"Everything's set," said Jamal as he crouched behind a bush. He had found a park about five miles out of the town that seemed to be rarely used, and even less when it was the beginning of December. He had taken a shirt of Imani's and put it in the clearing, figuring that Paul would probably find it, and think she was nearby. He looked back at his watch to see the time when he heard a noise. Looking up he saw Paul walking into the clearing.  
  
"Looks like you dropped something," said Paul as he picked up the shirt and took in the scent. "The chase is over Imani and you lose," he said as he continued walking on.  
  
"Perfect," grinned Jamal.  
  
--------  
  
"Before you leave please tell me why you don't want to be here anymore."  
  
"Chris, I didn't want to tell you this, but since I first left for London I have had a total of four outfits, two of which I bought in London. I am tired of wearing the same four outfits day in and day out, so I was going to my hotel room to get some change of clothes."  
  
"Oh," he said feeling very silly for everything he had just said.  
  
"I'll be back before you know it," she smiled as she picked up the suitcase.  
  
"Hey Elizabeth. You know, I bet you are paying a fortune for that hotel room and you are not even using it lately. Would you like to maybe move your stuff in here?"  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
"Yeah, why not?" he said as she just gave him a grin, and then left.  
  
---------  
  
"Where are you? Imani, come out and face the music," called Paul.  
  
"Imani's not here man, so I guess you are going to have to deal with me," said Jamal as he walked out to face Paul.  
  
"You have no business in these woods, boy."  
  
"You've made it my business." 


	42. Chapter 42

A/N: Wow-this is a short chapter, too short actually. I'll have to fix this sometime tomorrow and add a chapter. Anyways, enjoy what is now entitled 'The shortest chapter ever'. LOL. Until then-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"What is your problem with Imani anyways?" asked Jamal as he stood his ground and faced Paul.  
  
"My problem with her? My problem is she is a danger to society, she could harm any one she wants when she wants."  
  
"You are so wrong on that. Sometimes people have a gift that is more like a curse, and they can't do anything about it. They don't even want it, but does anyone else care-no. So why don't you just walk away from this stupid hunt, and let us live in peace."  
  
"Sorry, I can't do that," said Paul as he began the transformation into wolf.  
  
--------  
  
"Good grief Elizabeth, how much stuff did you have in that hotel room?" asked Chris as he brought in the third load of suitcases.  
  
"Well, I had been living there for over a year, what did you expect me to have?"  
  
"I've never seen a single person have so much stuff though. I mean Eve didn't even bring over this much when she lived with me before."  
  
"Eve?" asked a curious Elizabeth.  
  
"Yeah Eve. Ian's wife, Danny's mother, Kevin's ex. She was one of the interns that started out with me, my martini-buddy."  
  
"I know who she is, it's just from the little I've heard about her she just doesn't seem like your type."  
  
"Well, we never dated really. She was a pretty good roommate though," he said smiling as he thought back to those days.  
  
"She'd probably think you were crazy if she knew you were with me," laughed Elizabeth as they went down to get the last load.  
  
"Yeah, but she'd understand," smiled Chris as the elevator door closed.  
  
--------  
  
"So that's everything?" asked Lucy as she talked to Ian on the cell phone while standing in line for takeout. "Well other than what I'm getting- veggie stir fry. Do we need anything else?" she said as he talked to her on the phone. "Alright, I'm next after this person, I'll see you in a bit," she said hanging up the phone. She didn't recognize the girl in front of her, but she began to speak Lucy knew exactly who it was. When she was done with the order Lucy tapped her on the shoulder, "Hello Hi, hi. I'm Lucy Coe, and I believe you are Karissa right?" she said with a smile.  
  
"Why yes? How did you know me?" asked Karissa who was starting to get fidgety all of a sudden.  
  
"I'm Rafe's cousin, and he was just telling me about you the other day. He said it was nice to see an old face. So how much longer are you going to be in Port Charles?"  
  
"I-uhm-I've got to go," said Karissa as she rushed past Lucy and out the door. Just then the waiter brought her food out, "Where did lady go to?" he asked looking around.  
  
Lucy just shrugged her shoulders, and pulled her cell phone out, "Ian, it's me. I'm going to be a few minutes later getting home than I thought. I'll explain when I get home, ok?" she said as she glanced back outside, wondering what had just taken place.  
  
--------  
  
Jamal just stood there, wondering if he could do this. He stared as the black wolf that Paul had become began to snarl at him, ready to take him down in a second. Jamal reached to his back where the gun was being held. He had one choice, and one choice only-in the moments as he brought it forward he remembered all the moments he had had with Imani before now, and some of the moments he had with Alison when they were still dating. He held the gun in front of him with both hands, pointing it straight at Paul. As he began to pull the trigger back Paul lunged at him forcing him onto the ground. The next sound heard was that of a gun going off. 


	43. Chapter 43

A/N: Yeah, I guess I did have the infamous cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter, did I? LOL-well here's the next one. Enjoy! Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"I can't believe we never did this before," sighed Alison as she leaned back against Rafe. They were both lying on the floor with the fire roaring over their heads.  
  
"Yeah, it's perfect," he said kissing the back of her head. The first snow fall was going on outside, but they were safe inside with each other. He closed his eyes, wondering how much longer until she fell asleep, he could tell by her breathing she was already getting sleepy. Just then the mood was ruined with a banging against the door, "Just a minute," he said as he got up off the floor and went to answer it, "Hi, cousin. What's up?" he said as she saw him, and then Alison still stretched out in front of the fire.  
  
"You," she said as she poked him in the chest. "You were supposed to call me when you got the good news. Or has she not told you yet?" she wondered, worried she may have ruined the surprise.  
  
"About the paternity?" he smiled, realizing that was why she rushed the whole way over here in the snow to check on them. "Yes, she told me Lucy. Is there any other reason you came out this way?"  
  
"Well, yes, but can I talk to you outside?" she said as Alison nodded her head as the two of them went out.  
  
--------  
  
Paul pushing Jamal onto the ground made him misfire and lose a hold of the gun. He looked up to see it just out of his grasp, and he heard Paul directly next to him. He looked at Paul and then the gun-he put his hand towards Paul and was able to push him up against a tree, just enough time to grab the gun. He rolled on his side, the gun now back in his hand and faced Paul. He started coming closer to him, and Jamal shot once and then a second time, both hitting Paul. Jamal got back to his feet and watched as Paul returned to human form, two gunshots in his body.  
  
--------  
  
Livvie walked into Jack's and looked around, "I guess he's not back from work yet," she said putting the magazine on the couch and going to the kitchen. She started talking to herself as she made a sandwich, "Livvie-you are going to have to move out of here. There is no other choice because the longer you stay here the more strain it will put on yours and Jack's friendship," she said as she finished making her sandwich, then headed back into the living room to read her magazine.  
  
--------  
  
"What is it?" asked Rafe as he tilted his sideways to listen to her.  
  
"It's your friend Karissa. Rafe, I know she's your friend, and I know she says she was turned against her will, but there is something more to her."  
  
"Did you see her?"  
  
"Yeah, I was picking up dinner a few minutes ago and saw her. I remembered Alison talking about her at Thanksgiving, so I said hello. I told her I was your cousin and she got very nervous and ran out-didn't even get the food she already ordered."  
  
"That is strange. Do you have the key to Ian's place still?"  
  
"Yeah," she said as she took it out of her purse. "What do you need it for?"  
  
"Tell Alison I'll be back shortly," he said as he went flying down the steps and out the door.  
  
------  
  
"You are no better than me now," whispered Paul. "I killed Isaac because of the same reason."  
  
"No, you killed Isaac because you thought that somehow he would harm others. I killed you because you have harmed others-both Isaac and Imani. You killed Isaac, and you've been hunting down Imani for years. That all stops tonight because Imani and I will get through her being a werewolf, and we won't have to run from anyone anymore."  
  
"What about the cops? They are going to figure out who killed me and come after you."  
  
"They might figure out who did it, they might not. We'll just have to see what happens."  
  
"Why are you still here anyways?"  
  
"I want to make sure you are dead before I go back to Imani, I don't want either of us second guess what happened to you tonight," he said as he sat against a tree watching Paul.  
  
------  
  
"And the next song we're playing today is the new single by Stephen Clay. It's entitled 'Escape'," said the DJ on the radio as Livvie sat on the couch with her sandwich and magazine.  
  
"Oh joy," she said as the first few notes began to play.  
  
"You think you can escape me/You think you may finally win./Well, sweetheart I hate to tell you/But you can escape your own skin."  
  
"Sure I can, it's easy," she grinned to herself.  
  
"When you look in someone else's eyes/I know all you see is me./So get over yourself/And accept the way it has to be."  
  
"The only thing I'm going to accept is you need to lay off the revenge, dear husband."  
  
"Sometimes life is cruel/And sometimes love is unkind./But you promised your love to me for all eternity/And it's too late to change your mind."  
  
"Hmmm, you may have a point there," she said flipping the page as she continued to read an article.  
  
"Why don't we give up the game we're playing,/And finally talk face to face./Because nothing is going to keep us apart/Not eons of time or miles of space."  
  
"Fine, you want to talk? Let's talk then," she said putting down the magazine she grabbed her purse, turning off the radio before she heard the last verse of the song. 


	44. Chapter 44

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone-Remember: this is NOT my Christmas episode, I'm a few episodes behind. I'll let you know when it happens though. Until next time-Ho Ho Ho-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"I know you kept it, I know you didn't throw it away," said Rafe as he quickly went through the drawers of Eve's dresser. Just then his cell phone rang, "Hey Ian, did you remember where it is?" he asked. He had called Ian on the drive over to ask him about it, but he didn't remember anything.  
  
"Yeah, there's a box in the living room closet. It's up on the top shelf, she could have put it up there."  
  
"Hold on, let me check," he said as he rushed into the living room. "Ok, I've got the box," he said pulling it down and sitting on the couch. "Sorry about the mess I've made looking for it."  
  
"No problem. You really want to give this to her don't you?"  
  
"Something isn't quiet right Ian, and I'm getting worried. If it worked for Eve then it's got to work for Alison, right? Ah, found it," he said taking it in his hands.  
  
"Good, drive safe back to the gym, ok?"  
  
"Will do, thanks again. I'll bring the key back tomorrow," he said hanging up the phone and hitting the light switch before going home.  
  
---------  
  
"Alright, let's talk," said Livvie as she entered the loft like she owned the place.  
  
"Well, that didn't take long."  
  
"What are you talking about?" she said shaking her head.  
  
"What were you doing right before you decided to pay me a visit?"  
  
"I was listening to the radio and a song came on the air. What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"The song was my new one, and it called to you to come see me. Am I right?"  
  
"Yeah, so you might be, but that doesn't mean anything."  
  
"It means everything sweetheart," he said giving her a quick kiss.  
  
------------  
  
"Rafe?" asked a half-sleeping Alison as he slipped back into the apartment. The fire was out, and she had got into some flannel pajama's and under the covers.  
  
"Yeah, it's me-can you wake up for a minute? I need to talk to you about something serious."  
  
"What is it? Why did you leave earlier? You didn't even give me a kiss," she said giving him a pout. But when she saw the look on his face, one of both fear and uncertainty about something, she stopped being upset at him.  
  
"I had to find this," he said as he held up a gold chain with a medallion on the end of it.  
  
"That's Eve's. Michael gave it to her to protect her and Danny," said Alison as she watched the medallion spin slightly.  
  
-----------  
  
"So you got me into one of your little trances. You wanted to talk, so let's talk," Livvie said as she went over and sat on the arm of the couch.  
  
"Good," he smirked. "What is the reason you've been avoiding me? I mean you know that I've got Karissa working for me now, but you still seem just as upset."  
  
"Well, I am. She's not doing her job, I mean Rafe and Alison are back together happy as clams. Where are you and I? Living apart because of one woman. So when are you going to tell her to go home?" she said as he got up and grabbed the cell phone. "What are you doing?" she said as he dialed.  
  
"Just what you asked me to do," he said as he looked at her. "Karissa, uhm hi. Listen are you busy right now? No, good-can you come over to the loft? I need to talk to you about something important. Ok, see you soon," he said ending the conversation. "Now you are going to go hide around the corner when she shows up."  
  
---------  
  
"Yeah, and I want you to wear it. I also want you to promise me something Alison. Promise me you will not go anywhere near Karissa from now on. She's up to something dangerous, and until we figure out what it is I'm worried about your safety."  
  
"Do you think Caleb's in on it?" she asked as she took the necklace and ran her fingers over the face and letters on the front of the medallion.  
  
"I'm not sure, I haven't talked to him much these past few months-I've been more focused on us instead, which is the way it should be. Have you heard anything from Livvie or Jack?"  
  
"Livvie has surveillance set up on him, like we did that time. She thinks he only wants to tear us apart. I watched him on surveillance Rafe, he didn't seem to be trying to hatch out a plan to harm us, more like he was hatching out a plan to get Livvie back. So what are you going to do?"  
  
"I'll go have a chat with him tomorrow, but for now you look like you are getting tired," he said as she laid back down and curled up next to him. Within minutes she was asleep, but he stayed awake wondering what was going to happen next.  
  
---------  
  
"Glad you could join me," said Caleb as he let Karissa come in. "We need to talk about what you are doing."  
  
"Do you not like my work anymore?" she said as she came up to him.  
  
"I like your work, but I don't need you anymore."  
  
"You don't need me? But why?"  
  
"Things have changed. When I figure out a new way to need you I'll get in touch," he said as he got out his checkbook and wrote a check. "Here, this is for your wonderful work my dear. Thank you for the business," he said handing it to her.  
  
"No, thank you, Caleb," she said walking out. As the door closed she looked at the check again, "This won't do," she said as she ripped the check in two, and then morphed into Annette.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
A/N: Gracie--;) You are one smart cookie. 


	45. Chapter 45

A/N: I am glad you all enjoyed my "evil twist" (as I like to call it). It's been planned the whole time, and I just enjoyed putting in hints and leading up to the point where we see her morph from one character to the next. Now we get into the fun stuff-of course, this whole thing has been fun for me. LOL.  
  
I made a decision about my next story-it'll follow this, but not be in depth at all. The main four (R/A & C/L) will be given most of the spot light with Jack, Chris, and Elizabeth each playing a part also as the story progresses.the story in my head is great, just hope it comes out good too. It also won't be as writing intensive at all.  
  
Anyways, everyone enjoy-ya'll are the best-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"She's gone, you can come out now," said Caleb as he turned from the door to see Livvie walking out. "Anything else I can do to make you stop hating me?"  
  
"Hmm, let me think," she said as she gave a serious look. "Not that I know of."  
  
"Anything you would like to tell me?"  
  
"Like what?" she asked getting nervous.  
  
"Oh, how you've had surveillance on me? Or how you kissed Jack? I'm surprised you didn't go further than that."  
  
"Yes, I've got a camera on you, it's right there," she said pointing up to the vent. "You deserved to be spied on. As for not going further with Jack, believe me I was going to, but Alison showed up right before we did."  
  
"Alison saved your hide then," he grinned. "Believe me sweetheart, if it had been anything other than kissing I would be throwing your butt out faster than you could say my name."  
  
"Not like you didn't kiss her," she shrugged.  
  
"That thing," he said pointing to the door, "kissed me. I had nothing to do with her coming onto me like she did."  
  
"You weren't hating it though, were you?" she asked as she looked at him. He didn't say anything, just rubbed his face. "I've got to take a shower now," she said as she turned away from him and walked.  
  
------  
  
"Courtney, what a surprise," said Frank as he opened the door and let her come in. "So to what do we deserve to have the honor of your presence today?"  
  
"I've come to get my son."  
  
"He's my son also. And now he's all I've got."  
  
"Whatever. You still have your sweet little Karen, or did she dump your ass for someone better?"  
  
"I don't even have her anymore," he said rubbing his eyes.  
  
"So she did leave you," she said with a laugh.  
  
"She did, but it's not what you think."  
  
"Awww, poor Franky, left all alone-again. Neil! Come one sweetie, it's time to go," she said shouting his name.  
  
"Karen's--," he said before taking a big gulp, "Karen's dead, Courtney. Alright? So I'm left with nothing now, except my son. He's been here a month, and you didn't care when I called when he got here. So why do you care now?"  
  
"I care because he's my son, and I'm the one who raised him," she said as Neil walked out from his room. "Hey buddy, how's my little man?" she said running her hands through his hair.  
  
"Hi mom," he said then turning his attention to Frank, "Frank, I'm having trouble with some of my science homework again. Can you help me?"  
  
"Sure," he said as he walked back to his room, leaving Courtney standing in the middle of the living room again.  
  
------  
  
"We need to talk," said Rafe as he walked into Caleb's.  
  
"Let me guess, you want to know what I want for Christmas. I could really use a scarf, or maybe you could get me a pair of fuzzy slippers-I don't really care," said Caleb as he shut the door.  
  
"The only thing I'd get you for Christmas is coal."  
  
"You're such a Grinch. So what can I do for you on this wonderfully cold day?"  
  
"What are you and Karissa up to?"  
  
Caleb just let out a chuckle and took a sip of water, "You think I'm just going to tell you if you ask me? Come on Rafe, you know me better than that- I don't kiss and tell, of course neither does Alison."  
  
"That is in the past, I don't care about it now. What I do care about is the fact that you are using my friend Karissa to do your dirty work, now why don't you tell me why?"  
  
"Because you deserve it."  
  
"I deserve it? Oh how thoughtful," he said rolling his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, I thought you deserved to have some misery in your life for once. So I sent Annette to go find the girl and pay her to ruin your life. Don't worry though, you and Alison have nothing to fear-she left for home just a bit ago."  
  
"How am I supposed to believe a word that comes out of your mouth?"  
  
"Because I was here when he told her," said Livvie as she came from around the corner in a burgundy terry-cloth towel.  
  
---------  
  
"So buddy, you ready to leave now?" said Courtney as she leaned against the door jamb to Neil's room.  
  
"Where are we going?" he said looking at Frank.  
  
"Neil, your mom wants you to live with her. You have a choice, you can go with her or stay with me. It's all up to you," said Frank as he sat next to his son.  
  
Neil looked at his mom, and then back at his dad, "Mom, I want to stay here- Frank is fun, and I liked seeing Grandma Mary and Victor too. And besides, I'm tired of jumping from one school to another. I enjoy hanging out with Serena, and sometimes we see Christina and Danny too. Please, can I stay with him?"  
  
"No, and that's final. Come on, we'll come back tomorrow and get the rest of your things," she said as she filled a bag up with some clothes, and dragged him out of the house.  
  
--------  
  
"So you finally kissed and made up, hmm?" he said looking at Livvie.  
  
"Yeah, turn around," she told him as she went to get something to wear.  
  
"Fine. So how do we know that Caleb here didn't have this all planned out, Livvie? How do we know he didn't want you to hear it?"  
  
"Rafe we're all tired of this constant fight between each other, he's ready to try and start a normal life with me. Something I thought you'd been doing with Alison lately. Ok, you can turn around now," she said as he turned around and saw she had got into a pair of jeans and a black sweater.  
  
"If you have something else planned Caleb, I will find out."  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Now if you don't mind my wife and I have some more kissing and making up to do," he said as he pulled Livvie next to him and they started kissing before Rafe even had a chance to leave.  
  
--------  
  
Annette walked into the doors of the monastery and looked around, it was amazing what a little magic could do to restore an old place. The wood was no longer charred, but smooth and fresh. She walked into the sanctuary and ran her hands over the pews as she walked towards the front, "Caleb, I told you when you said you were going to come here that it would be a bad idea. I told you that nothing good would come out of it. And then you found her, you thought she was your original Olivia, but she wasn't. I just wish you could have seen the truth before it was too late, before she killed you. You came back, and Joshua tried to keep you away from her. Why didn't you just come back to me after everything? Our life had been fine before you decided to come here-helping each other when we needed to feed and confiding in each other. So now begins your journey back to me-first off, Rafe Kovich," she said as she disappeared. 


	46. Chapter 46

Disclaimer: Alright everyone-I'm on my way to a wonderful wedding now, and will be back sometime Monday. Try and not post a ton of chapters while I'm gone (or you can Nat, Melody and I'll enjoy them when I get back) Everyone have a great weekend, and remember that soul mates do exist. (My friends that are getting married are truly soul mates) Until next time-PC begins on Monday-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Hey Frank," said Lucy with a smile as she opened the door for him. "Is everything ok with Neil? He's not sick, is he?"  
  
"No, he's not sick, but everything is not ok. Is Ian in?"  
  
"Uhm, no he's not. He'll be back soon though. What's wrong?"  
  
"Courtney came by last night and took him. Lucy, I don't know what to do. After Karen died I never thought I could be happy again. Then Neil came, and everything looked better. I don't know what to do now. Do I fight her for custody?"  
  
"Well, let's sit down, and wait for Ian to come in. I'm sure he'll know what to do," she said, hoping she was right.  
  
------  
  
Imani was picking up the mess she made in the hotel room the next morning. She was humming to herself, trying not to worry about what may have happened last night. Jamal should have been back earlier, but maybe he would be here soon. Her back was to the door when she heard the knob being turned and it made her jump. She turned around to see Jamal standing there and ran to his arms. "You're safe. I was so scared all night."  
  
"There's nothing to worry about now though, I promise. So where do you want to go first?" he asked looking at her.  
  
"I don't want to go anywhere first."  
  
------  
  
"Hey, what's going on?" said Ian as he walked in. He put Danny down who went running off to go find Christina.  
  
"Courtney took Neil."  
  
"She did what? That's not right. So what can we do to help?" he said asking Frank.  
  
"I don't know. All I know is that without him in my life right now I'm right back to where I was without Karen-alone and miserable."  
  
"Do we have anything to use to keep Neil with you? Has he said anything major?"  
  
"Well, he said today that he's tired of being jumped from one school to the next. Can we use that?"  
  
"I'm going to find out," said Ian as he grabbed the phone and dialing. "Hey Kate, its Ian Thornhart."  
  
------  
  
"Ok, then what do you want to do first?"  
  
"Call Medea," she said as she went to get her cell phone. "I have to tell her that everything is over," as she dialed the phone. "Medea!" she shouted into the phone with happiness.  
  
"Imani, is everything ok?" asked the woman as she began to get ready for a new day.  
  
"Everything is fine. Jamal here-he's so brave Medea-he killed Paul."  
  
"I knew he could do it," she smiled as she saw a woman standing outside the Café looking confused. "Will you be visiting me soon then?"  
  
"Yes, I promise I will. We're going to discuss what we want to do, and then I'll come for a visit."  
  
"Well, that's good. Listen, I've got someone outside that looks lost. Call me when you know what your plans are. And give that man of yours a big kiss for me."  
  
"Alright, Medea," laughed Imani.  
  
-------  
  
"Mommy?" said Christina as Lucy tried to get her daughter to take a nap. "Why is Frank so sad?"  
  
"Well, Pumpkinhead-Neil's mommy came and wants Neil to live with her again. Frank is sad because he's going to miss Neil."  
  
"Why can't they be nice like you and Daddy?"  
  
"I don't know Pumpkinhead, I don't know."  
  
-------  
  
"Thank you so much for the meal, I can't believe I got so lost," said the woman who now sat in the Café.  
  
"It's no problem," said Medea as she took the empty cup back to the kitchen. She looked through the window, there was something not right about this woman, but maybe she was just imagining it. She filled the cup up again, and then came back out. "So where were you headed too?"  
  
"Montgomery. I've got some friends there to visit."  
  
"Really? Well, I hope you find your way again. I think I forgot, but did you tell me what your name was."  
  
"No, I didn't," she said wiping her mouth. "My name is Karissa." 


	47. Chapter 47

A/N: Hi all-I must have caught something this weekend because I've felt crummy all day. So enjoy this chapter-maybe next time I'll have more to say in this part. Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
Alison walked into Lucy's with Rafe, "Hey, anyone home?" she asked, then seeing the blonde sitting on the couch. "Oh, sorry we didn't know Lucy had company," she said as they turned back around.  
  
"Alison," said Kate in a jokingly-hurtful voice.  
  
"Kate!" she said as she ran to the couch and the two embraced. "How are you? What are you doing here?"  
  
"I am here on a somewhat business matter. Frank needs my help with Neil."  
  
"What happened with Neil?" asked Rafe as Ian walked into the living room. He walked over and handed the key to Ian.  
  
"Frank said he would meet you at the Recovery Room in an hour, Kate," said Ian taking the key and putting it back on his key ring, playing with it for a second before putting it in his pocket.  
  
"Well, I better be going. I promise we will get together soon, I've got so much catching up to do," she said giving Alison a hug before leaving.  
  
--------  
  
"Hi," said Lucy as Kevin opened the door and picked up Christina.  
  
"Hi Lucy," he said as he walked back to the living room and Lucy shut the door. "And how are you doing today sweetie?"  
  
"Mommy and I are going to see Santa later. Yesterday Frank came and visited us."  
  
"Really?" he said looking at Lucy who mouthed the word Courtney. He just nodded and looked back at his daughter, "Well, I've got a surprise for you. I'm going out of town in a few days, and won't be back for Christmas so I was going to let you open your presents yourself. How does that sound?"  
  
"Yay!" she said as she jumped up and down.  
  
-------  
  
Karissa sat in her hotel room in Silverhill Alabama with Jamal's cell phone in her hand. This was too easy, she thought to herself. If she had known this was all she was going to have to do she would have just bypassed the whole trying to seduce Rafe thing long ago. She found his cell phone number listed and began to dial, happy when she heard the voice mail pick up. She took a breath, and left the message-her voice practically matching that of Jamal's. Once she hung up she laid back on the bed, grinning at her plan that she had set in motion.  
  
------  
  
"Frank," smiled Kate as she stood up and shook his hand. "I know this is strange-to be meeting with me at the Pizza Shack, but when I went by the Recovery Room--."  
  
"Yeah, uhm, don't ask about that," he chuckled. "I'm so glad you are willing to meet with me."  
  
"Anything for my favorite residents. It's nice being back in this town, but it seems different now."  
  
"Yeah, it is. A lot has changed and it's really hard to explain. Anyways, about Neil-I don't know how strong of a case I have really. She's raised him his whole life, but then a month ago he shows up on my doorstep. We called her, and she said she had some stuff that was going on and for me to take care of him. Yesterday she comes by and takes him back. It's not fair to him."  
  
"No, it's not at all fair. Did Neil want to go with her yesterday?"  
  
"He wanted to stay with me. Since Karen's death," he said as a look of surprise came across her face, "I've been really down. Then when Neil showed up it showed that I had another reason to keep living. Something else he said-he mentioned he's been in a lot of school's since he left here at the end of 2000."  
  
"Alright, here's where we will start-I'm going to take a look and see how many school's he has been in. If it's more than 3 then that will definitely be something to bring up. Now Frank, there is one big thing against your part. Ian told me you aren't working anymore-not as a paramedic or at the," she said looking at her notes, "Elixir. You need to have a good steady job. Try and get your job back as a paramedic and fast. I'll call you later with any news I have."  
  
"Thanks Kate," he said as she walked off and he decided what he had to do about a job.  
  
------  
  
"Alright pumpkinhead, we're just going to go out here for a bit. You go play with your toys, ok?" said Lucy as her and Kevin went out on the balcony, closing the door behind them. "Thanks for doing that, Kevin."  
  
"It's no problem, I just wanted her to be able to enjoy a little bit of Christmas with her family-even if it is early."  
  
"So where are you headed off to?"  
  
"Nowhere special, just a meeting in Atlanta. I'll be back probably the 27th or so. If you need me back earlier than that just call-I'll have my cell phone on."  
  
"Well, I hope you get to enjoy yourself some also."  
  
"I plan on it Lucy."  
  
---------  
  
"Hey Frank," said Jack as he saw him walk in the door. "What can I get you today?"  
  
"A soda will be fine. So how has business been lately?" he said looking around and not seeing many customers.  
  
"It's been slowing down a lot."  
  
"Well, I've got a business proposition to make, Ramsey. How would you feel about turning this place back into the Recovery Room? You would get the older customers back, those that may be intimidated by the vampire lifestyle. Give me twenty-five percent of the business, that way we can both work with each other to, you know, make it into what it was in its heyday. You'll still have final say in all workings though, as you own most of the business."  
  
"I can't pass up a business proposition, but first tell me why you want to do this all of a sudden."  
  
"It's all about Neil. Courtney took him back, and I'm going to fight for him this time. I let Lucy and Kevin raise my girl without a fight, and now he's all I have to fight for. Kate says I need a good job-what more than being partial owner in a business, but still have the ability to be there for him with school activities and such."  
  
"Let me get back to you, Frank," said Jack as he went to go help another customer.  
  
--------  
  
"Wow, I feel so bad for Frank," said Alison as Ian finished telling what he knew.  
  
"Yeah, I mean he's finally feeling like he's getting his life together and another blow hits him."  
  
"Everything is going to be fine though, Kate is going to find a way to make it all work out-she always does," she said as she looked at Rafe who had a puzzled look on his face. "Rafe?"  
  
"Oh, sorry. I just noticed I had a message on my cell phone. I never heard it ring," he said as he listened to it.  
  
"Hey man, it's Jamal. Listen, I need some help in Alabama with a werewolf. Can you meet me here? Jack knows the directions to the Café. Thanks."  
  
"Well, who was it?" she asked looking at him.  
  
"It sounded like Jamal with a cold."  
  
"That boy never gets sick. What did he want?"  
  
"Help with a werewolf. But you know what, he can take care of himself I'm sure. Who knows when that message was left anyways," he said putting the phone back in his pocket.  
  
"No, Rafe. It's Jamal and he's our friend. Just like Ian here-we don't abandon our friends when they need us," said a possessive Alison.  
  
"Fine, I guess I'm going to Alabama."  
  
---------  
  
"Give your Daddy a big hug," said Lucy as she finished putting the gifts in the car.  
  
Christina went over and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, "I'll miss you, Daddy," she said.  
  
"I'll miss you too, but I'll be home soon. And then I'll get to see what all Santa brought you."  
  
"Take care Lucy."  
  
"You too, Kevin," she said as she got Christina and went to see Santa again.  
  
------  
  
After the talk with Jack he had gone for a walk. He kept walking until he ended up in front of Karen's grave. Kneeling down he began to speak, "I know you are watching over me right now. And I'm trying to do what is right Karen. You always saw the good in me, and if I can just get Neil back from Courtney-which I know you would like as you two never did care for each other-I'll promise to raise him the best I can. I always thought you brought out the best in me, and you always did, but now I don't have you-I have my son. Please just let someone up there help me keep my son-he's all I have and all I'll ever need," he said closing his eyes, trying to think of what she would say. 


	48. Chapter 48

A/N: Alright ya'll-I'm excited to be getting to the end of Breaking Point (I think there's less than 10 episodes left of this story)-and have definitely loved every second. The next story is called-wait, I can't tell you that yet. ;) hehehe-I'm so evil. Have a happy new year everyone! Until I talk to you in 2004-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~  
  
Livvie was walking into the living room from the bathroom with her shampoo and other products when Jack walked in the house, "Hi," she said looking at him and then going back to packing.  
  
"Where are you going to?" asked Jack.  
  
"Caleb and I have made up. I'm moving back to the loft. Listen, I already returned the monitors and camera back to the rental place. You don't have to worry about anything really," she said zipping up her suitcase  
  
"So that's it? We're back to complete strangers then?"  
  
------  
  
Ian stared at the stack of files in front of him. Patients he still needed to see because it seemed that Chris had slipped off the face of the earth again. Colleen walked up and handed him another, "Here's another victim with the flu."  
  
"Where is Ramsey?" he groaned.  
  
"I don't know. We've been trying to get a hold of him for a day now. He won't answer though."  
  
"Well, I'm going to see this patient and then go pay him a visit," he said as he took the chart from her and left.  
  
-------  
  
Alison walked into the restaurant and looked around for Kate. She saw her sitting at the table already, and went to join her, "So tell me everything about the past year," she said as she put her purse next to her and slid in.  
  
"Well, there's not much to tell. Brennan and I are supposed to be married in March. Will you be able to make it? Please tell me you will," smiled Kate.  
  
"Of course I will. That's as long as you don't want a woman as huge as a barn to be a guest."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"I'm four months pregnant right now," glowed Alison. "By then I'll be seven and be as huge as a barn or house, or something. I'm already starting to have to buy maternity clothes."  
  
"Honey, I couldn't even tell you were pregnant. And I'm sure you will be just as stunning then," she said as the waitress came and took their orders.  
  
-------  
  
"Jack, we aren't strangers-we're friends, remember? Just because I'm moving back in with Caleb doesn't mean I won't be seeing you. I'll come by the Elixir like always."  
  
"If it's still there," he said taking a phone book from the closet and opening it up.  
  
"What do you mean if it's still there?" she said as she stopped and took the phonebook from his hand. "Tell me what you are doing Jack."  
  
-------  
  
"So where is Rafe today?" asked Kate as the waitress placed their soup in front of them.  
  
"Thank you," smiled Alison.  
  
"If you need anything else, my name is Kayla," said the sweet girl as she went to help another customer.  
  
"Rafe is on his was to Alabama. Jamal has a problem he needs help with, so he left last night."  
  
"What is Jamal doing in Alabama?" asked Kate, who thought that was slightly odd.  
  
"He's got a female friend, Imani. I'm not completely sure what it's all about, but he called Rafe and left a message to go down there. He should be there any minute now," she said blowing on her soup before taking a taste.  
  
------  
  
"It doesn't matter to you. It's mine and Frank's decision. He wants me to have it go back to the Recovery Room, and I'm trying to find a lawyer to discuss what we need to do to make it official," he said trying to grab the phonebook from his hand.  
  
"Not so fast mister," said Livvie holding it behind her. "What do you mean it doesn't matter to me? I enjoy the Elixir, and I enjoyed the Recovery Room. This is my town too Jack and I want to know and have a say in changing back."  
  
"So what do you say?" asked Jack, who now was wondering what others may think.  
  
"I love the idea. It's the final part of Joshua's rule left in this town, and if we get rid of it, then maybe we'll get rid of all the evilness in this town," she said as she handed the phonebook back to him and waited as he found a lawyer to call and fill out the paperwork.  
  
------  
  
Rafe pulled into the parking spot and turned off the car, it had been a long drive, but he was finally here. He looked around and didn't see Jamal's bike anywhere near, but figured he'd put it somewhere else out of sight. He picked up the cell phone and called Alison.  
  
"Hello?" said Alison as she continued to mess with her soup at dinner with Kate.  
  
"Hi there angel," he said getting out. "I'm here, but there's no sign of Jamal. I'll find him in a little bit though. What are you doing?"  
  
"Kate and I are having lunch. So you will be happy to know I'm eating just fine without you."  
  
"That's good to hear," he laughed. "Well, I better get in and see what is up. I'll call you when I get a chance, ok?"  
  
"Alright, and tell Jamal to visit sometime. Or at least send a postcard."  
  
"I will. I love you always."  
  
"I love you always too," she said hanging up the phone.  
  
Rafe put his cell phone back in the car, and walked towards the door, not seeing the person hiding in the shadows nearby.  
  
------  
  
"Chris, open up this door now," yelled Ian as he banged on the door. He kept banging and finally it opened a crack. He walked in to see female clothes scattered around the apartment and Chris walking back to the desk. "It looks like Wyndham's exploded in here," he said taking a look around.  
  
"I was just about to call you, Ian. I've got great news."  
  
"Really? How about you finally showing up for work today? That's the best news I could hear right now."  
  
"I guess you don't want this," said Chris as he held up a syringe. 


	49. Chapter 49

A/N: Glad I can help cure the 'I hate Livvie syndrome'. LOL. The next arc title has been determined. It is-Trinity. It's really cool, and I am enjoying writing it-as before it's not going to be as in depth as Breaking Point, but it should be good. On with the show-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Frank sat on the couch with Jack sitting at the one next to him reading the agreement, "Twenty-five percent ownership will be handed over to Francis Xavier Scanlon while the other Seventy-Five will stay with Jack Ramsey," he said as he continued to read the rest quietly. He looked over at him, "Sounds fair to me-what do you say Kate?"  
  
"I've looked it over, and completely agree with it. Now all you two have to do is sign on the dotted line and I'll have it notarized. This is the best course of action for getting Neil back."  
  
"Yeah, and I know Karen would be proud of me to get some of the Recovery Room back after I goofed it up before," he said signing then passing it onto Jack.  
  
"We all make mistakes," said Jack as he signed.  
  
-------  
  
"First I want you to sign these papers," said Chris as they now sat on the couch.  
  
"I don't want to sign any papers. Just stick the stupid needle in me and get it over with. I'll deal with the consequences later."  
  
"But--."  
  
"Ramsey!" yelled Ian.  
  
"Fine, fine," he said getting ready for the injection.  
  
-----  
  
Rafe walked into the Silverhill Café and took a look around. It was just how Ricky had described it when he called him yesterday, small and quaint- very homey also. He looked and saw Imani's grandmother giving someone else an order so he just slipped into a booth and decided to wait until she got over to him.  
  
"Hello," smiled Medea as she turned on the charm.  
  
"Hi," he said staring at the menu, he was hungry but he'd wait to eat when he talked to Jamal. "Can you tell me where Jamal is?"  
  
"And why do you want to know that?" she said, her southern hospitality turned off that second.  
  
Rafe just laughed, this was another thing that Ricky seemed to describe perfectly-a very protective grandmother, "I'm a friend of his from Port Charles. He told me to come down to help with a little problem."  
  
"Well, I don't know why he told you that-he hasn't been here in well over a month."  
  
------  
  
"Well it's official, you two are now partners," smiled Kate as she folded the papers. "I'll call you later to go over the specifics of court next week."  
  
"Thanks again," he said as she left. "So what now, partner?"  
  
"I believe it's time for a celebration," he said getting up. Frank watched him walk around the bar and then into the store room. He then rested his head back on the couch and closed his eyes, not seeing Courtney walking into the place.  
  
-----  
  
"Are you serious?"  
  
"I don't kid about stuff when it comes to my Granddaughter."  
  
"Well, I wonder who sent me all this way from Port Charles," he said as he stood up. "It was nice to meet you, sorry for bothering you," he said then leaving. "Why would someone send me all the way down here?" he said out loud as he pulled his car keys out of his pocket and headed to the car to call Alison to let her know he was coming back.  
  
"Because I want you," lied Karissa as she stood behind him.  
  
----  
  
"Here you go," said Jack as he handed Frank a shot glass filled with blood, and had another one filled with whiskey for himself.  
  
Frank just laughed as he took it from his hand, "I take it this is a toast?"  
  
"Yes, a toast to new ventures-the re-Recovery Room opening again."  
  
"I'll drink to that," as the two clinked glasses. "I need to be going somewhere though," he said getting up and seeing Courtney standing there. "What are you doing?" he asked.  
  
"Trying to figure out what you are up to, that's all. There is no way you are getting my son though Frank," she said as she walked over to where he was. She grabbed his shot glass and took a sniff, "This-this is blood," Courtney said with a shocked look.  
  
-------  
  
"Well, it's been thirty minutes, how do you feel?" asked Chris.  
  
"So far so good, but the last time we did this it lasted a few hours. Are we really going to sit around here and wait? They are slammed at the hospital, so we don't we go finish our shifts and see how I feel afterwards."  
  
"But what if you have a relapse like last time?"  
  
"We're going to be at a hospital, Chris-they can take care of me there," he said as he got up and walked to the door and opened it. "Are you coming, Dr. Ramsey?"  
  
"I guess so," he said as he looked around the room to see if he needed anything and left.  
  
------  
  
Rafe just turned around and sighed, "I should have known. Only you would have wanted me to drive all this way to try and seduce me out of Alison's grasp. It's not going to work though Karissa-whatever game you have planned tonight is going to fail because I love Alison and only her. I also know that Caleb paid you to come here," he said giving a sarcastic smile at the end of his speech.  
  
"Well, there is one thing you don't know," she said walking closer to him.  
  
"Oh yeah, what?"  
  
"I'm not Karissa," she said as she morphed back to her true form-Annette. 


	50. Chapter 50

A/N: Wow-I have written FIFTY chapters. 50! Can you believe it? I'm in shock. Ok-enough of that. Is Ian really cured? Yes he is positively, absolutely, without a doubt CURED (taken loosely from Wizard of Oz with the munchkin saying the witch with a house on top of her was dead.I hope you know what I'm talking about or I'll feel like an idiot) Karnette vs. Imani- there's a thought. Not sure if I'll need it in Trinity, but thanks for the idea.  
  
Everyone get ready for an intense ride-I enjoyed writing this SOOOO much- it's awesome. Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Frank just stared at Courtney-what was he going to say? There was no way he could admit that it was blood or he'd never get to see Neil again. He just looked at Jack who then decided to jump in to help a friend, "You must be mistaken," said Jack as he took the glass from her hand and smelled it, "I don't smell anything. And who has actually ever heard of people drinking blood?" he chuckled out.  
  
"I know what I smelled," she said trying to get the glass back, but he then walked over to the counter and began to rinse it out. "Who are you anyways?"  
  
"I'm Frank's new business partner. The name is Jack Ramsey," he said as he extended his arm for a handshake.  
  
"Ramsey? As in Chris' brother?"  
  
"One and the same," said Chris as he walked in and over to the bar with Ian. "Courtney, it's been so long, I was upset to hear you hadn't come to pay me a visit," he said pulling her into a hug.  
  
"Get away from me," she said shoving him away. "You people are all too weird," she said looking around and then walking out, nearly running into Alison in the process.  
  
"What's her problem?" asked Alison as she looked back at the woman storming past the window.  
  
"Thanks man," said Frank to Jack as he went and sat down at the bar.  
  
"No problem. What can I get you, Mrs Kovich?"  
  
Alison smiled at the sound of someone saying that, it never made her sad, "I was on my way for dinner with my mom and thought I'd stop by here first. Did it work out Frank?"  
  
"Yes, it did. Now I only have to worry about Courtney figuring out a vampire," he sighed.  
  
"No you don't. That's what we came by to tell you-Chris here has a cure."  
  
"Are you serious?" asked Frank.  
  
"Yeah, but we need to get back to work while we still have jobs," said Ian as he towards the door. "We've got you a syringe of the stuff in Chris' car."  
  
"I'll come back later to discuss plans," said Frank as he went out the door.  
  
"Oh yeah-Jack, we're going to celebrate later, just me and you. Ok?" said Chris as he went to follow the other two  
  
"See you then," he laughed shaking his head, and then looking back at Alison.  
  
---------  
  
"What the--?" said Rafe under his breath as he woke up inside the sanctuary. The last thing he remembered was being in Alabama and Karissa being there. But then she turned into Annette. "Where are you?" he yelled, as he jumped up and looked around.  
  
"Hello, Slayer," she said walking in from the back. "How are you feeling today?"  
  
"Don't play nice with me-not now that you've taken me hostage. Where are we?" he said knowing the answer.  
  
"Where everything Caleb began, where Eve met Michael, and she left the basement door open so Caleb could escape. Where you almost lost your Alison outside, isn't that right?" she asked as she tilted her head to the side.  
  
"Don't you dare touch my wife. She has never done anything to you, and you know that. When we were at that stupid bat-haven for the wedding I could see through you then, but because of her I didn't do anything about it. I knew how much she wanted to get married, and I wasn't about to keep her from it another second."  
  
"Well, see I don't really have to harm her at all. She isn't a piece of the puzzle anyways. The main pieces are you, Olivia, and Caleb."  
  
"So you are going to get rid of just me and Livvie then?" he asked with a hint of a laugh in his voice.  
  
"Yes, see you two are going to disappear, and I'll start putting it in everyone's ear that you ran off together. Then Caleb will come crying to me, and we'll return to Transylvania happy at last."  
  
Rafe just started laughing, and couldn't stop. That was the most absurd thing he had ever heard. "You can't be serious? I mean there are two huge errors in your story. First of all, Livvie and I are like five year old siblings-we constantly argue and torment the other person. Nobody would ever think we ran off together because we secretly yearn for one another. Secondly, Caleb and Alison both will not stop searching for us. They both know we would never abandon them, and they will go to the ends of the earth to find out the truth. So now it seems you will have to change your plans, my dear?"  
  
--------  
  
"Any word from Rafe yet?" asked Jack as he watched a slightly nervous Alison in front of him.  
  
"No, and I'm getting worried. Jack, he should have called me by now-I mean how long does it really take to kill a werewolf."  
  
"I wouldn't know the answer to that, but I'm sure he'll call you tonight. Shouldn't you be heading over to the Grille now?"  
  
Alison looked at her watch, "Oh yeah, I should. I need to drop off Livvie's jacket first-I keep meaning to do it and forget. Have a good night out with Chris," she smiled looking back at him as she went out the door.  
  
--------  
  
She just turned around and closed her eyes, the guy did have a point, but it was still going to work, and she knew that. "Well, I guess you are right," she said turning around and then slamming him against one of the walls of the room. He seemed slumped over a bit, and she went to check on him, "Wow, I knocked you out in one try-not bad," she smirked as she turned around. Just then he grabbed her leg and pulled her on the floor.  
  
"You aren't going anywhere," he said as he crawled over to where she was. His back hurt to move, but he wasn't going to let her go that easily.  
  
"Looks like you hurt your back just then."  
  
"Yeah, so?"  
  
"Well, let me take the pain away," she said pulling out a syringe and stabbing into his neck.  
  
"Ow! What was that?" he asked as he started to feel slightly numb.  
  
"Oh, just something to knock you out for probably a day or so. When you wake up, if you wake up, Olivia should be here," she said as she jumped up, and ran out of the room.  
  
Rafe just lied there as the numbness continued to get stronger, then his eyes started to get heavy. "Dad, I know you are watching out for me right now," he said as he took a deep breath. "But don't worry about me-I'll be fine, I swear. I'm worried about Alison though, that woman-that thing--is certifiably crazy. She's going after Alison right now, I can feel it. Please, just keep her safe, and don't let that woman hurt our baby. Please, just keep Alison and the baby safe--," he said and then slipping into unconsciousness. 


	51. Chapter 51

A/N: First read the chapter-there's another note at the bottom. Enjoy!  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Livvie was lighting candles as there was a knock on the door, "I'll get it," she said as she blew out the match and went to see who it was, "Alison, is everything ok?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I just wanted to give you your jacket. I'm on my way to dinner with my mom," she said handing the jacket over. "Something smells good," she said as the aroma made its way to the hall.  
  
"Caleb's cooking something-he says it's a surprise."  
  
"He can cook? I'm impressed," she laughed.  
  
"Yeah, I guess living for hundreds of years you have to learn to cook for yourself," she shrugged. "Well, I better get back in. Enjoy dinner with Elizabeth," she said with a smile.  
  
"Who was that?" asked Caleb as he came out with two plates of pasta.  
  
"That was Alison," she said holding up the jacket and putting it in the closet. "That smells so good," she said as she went to sit down and he fed her a bite.  
  
------  
  
Jack was drawing again the new outline for the place when he heard his name called. He looked up and saw Jamal standing there and his jaw dropped, "What are you doing here?" he asked.  
  
"I came for a visit, and tie up some loose ends. What's wrong-am I not supposed to be here?" he said looking around.  
  
"No, you aren't. You are supposed to be in Alabama where Rafe is. He got your cell phone message and--."  
  
Jamal interrupted Jack just then, "I never called Rafe. And if it was about the werewolf guy, it's over-I killed him myself."  
  
Jack then began to explain to Jamal everything that had happened for the past two and a half months, from the wedding to the Halloween party, to the sudden appearance of Rafe's friend from home.  
  
----------  
  
"Will you please wipe that grin off your face," teased Chris as he walked up to the desk from seeing a patient.  
  
"Look who's talking," he said. "Anyways, I was just trying to decide how to tell Lucy I'm normal again."  
  
"You will never be normal," he said with a laugh as he went and picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Hi Lucy," he said trying to ignore Ian's attempt to grab the phone from him.  
  
"Hi Chris," said a confused Lucy. "Do you need something?"  
  
"Yes, I just wanted to tell you-darn," he said as Ian finally got the phone from him.  
  
"Hi," said Ian with a hint of laughter in his voice.  
  
"Uhm, hi. What was Chris wanting to tell me?"  
  
"Nothing, but I did want to ask you something," he said as Chris grabbed another chart and left. "I was wondering how you would like to celebrate tonight."  
  
"Celebrate what exactly?"  
  
"Oh nothing really-just the fact I'm not a vampire," he said as he heard a squeal from the other end of the phone. "I take it you are happy."  
  
"Happy? More like thrilled. Ok, I'm going to go drop the kids off at Gail's and get something for dinner."  
  
"Why don't we not send the kids away tonight," he said jotting down a quick note as he went to the next file. "Anyways, I've got a load of work to do for right now. I'll call you when I can make it home."  
  
"Ta," she said hanging up the phone and still grinning.  
  
--------  
  
Alison was halfway down the steps when her cell phone began to ring, "Hello?" she asked.  
  
"Alison, I'm so glad you are answering. Where are you?" asked Jack who was now grabbing his keys and locking up the Elixir.  
  
"I just dropped off Livvie's jacket and am going to meet my mom. Why?"  
  
"I can't explain now. I want you to go back to Livvie and Caleb's and stay there until we get there."  
  
"We?"  
  
"Jamal and I."  
  
"Jamal? What is happening? Where is Rafe?" asked a frantic Alison as she turned around and saw Annette standing at the top of the steps. "Annette," she gasped, and then screamed as the woman pushed her down the steps.  
  
--------  
  
Livvie and Caleb were sitting on the couch eating when they heard her scream in the hall. Caleb jumped up and was out the door before Livvie could sit down her plate. He stood at the top of the now deserted stairs seeing Alison at the bottom, and then went down them. "Hey, open your eyes," he said as Livvie came bounding down the stairs. "Try and wake her up. I'm calling an ambulance," he said as he ran back up the steps. He had just left when Livvie heard the footsteps on the stairs, "That was quick," she said looking up to see Annette. "What-what are you doing here?"  
  
"You'll find out soon enough," she said now standing directly over to the two girls.  
  
"Rafe," whispered Alison.  
  
"It's me, Ali. Caleb's calling for help. It's going to be ok, don't worry," she said running her hands over her hair.  
  
"No it's not. The only way it would be ok is if Caleb had never come to this town," said Annette grabbing Livvie and stepping over and leaving with her.  
  
"Caleb!" screamed Livvie as she left.  
  
Caleb came running back around the corner just that second to see the door to the outside closing shut. He ran outside and looked around for her, "Olivia!"  
  
--------  
  
"Well, time to celebrate," said Ian as he came into the doctor's lounge to see Chris getting ready to go.  
  
"Yeah, I just called Jack, but he's not answering. Must have got busy all of a sudden," he said as Colleen walked in.  
  
"I was wondering if you two would mind staying a bit longer."  
  
"Colleen, we love you, but I think it's time to say good night."  
  
"I really need you to do a consultation on someone coming in. You may actually be interested in who it is," she said handing the folder to Ian.  
  
He looked at it once and then again, "Where is she?"  
  
"The ambulance is on the way to pick her up now."  
  
"Who is it?" asked Chris as Ian handed him the folder, "Alison."  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
A/N: Ok, I'm pretty sure right now two of the three Awians are screaming bloody murder, and worried about Alison. Don't jump to any conclusions- wait and see what I have planned. PCGirl. 


	52. Chapter 52

A/N: Glad you remembered to breathe, Gracie. I knew you would be one of the Awian's that got upset. I am glad you are enjoying the story still-you are enjoying it still, right? I'll post now before anyone starts to hyperventilate again worrying about Alison. Ya'll are the best-Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~~  
  
Jack drove up seeing them putting Alison into the ambulance and Caleb standing there with his hands covering his face, "What in the hell have you done, Caleb?"  
  
"Me? I didn't do anything. We heard her scream, and went to check on her. I had gone up to call the ambulance when Olivia disappeared."  
  
"Livvie's gone? Great, this day is getting stranger by the second. First Alison says some name that makes no sense and now Livvie is missing."  
  
"What name did she say?" he said trying to regain some sanity.  
  
"Annette. She said Annette and then screamed."  
  
"What? That can't be right," he said as he saw Jamal walking up.  
  
"I just called Medea-she did see Rafe yesterday, and had a woman with the name Karissa come by the day before. She can't find my cell phone now either," said Jamal.  
  
"So now we just have to figure out how Karissa and Annette are tied, oh yeah we already know the answer to that. It's Caleb," glared Jack.  
  
-----  
  
Livvie tried to pull out of Annette's grasp as they came up to the Monastery. Her heart was racing with fear because she knew, as well as everyone else, that this place burned down before, "How did you do this? Why did you do this?" she asked.  
  
"What? Why did I recreate this place? Because I figured everything needed to come full circle. Where else could that happen but the beginning of it all. So why don't you come in-you won't be alone, Olivia-Rafe is here too," she said as she shoved her in the chapel and slammed the door shut.  
  
Livvie turned around, taking in how everything was whole again-this was definitely coming full circle, but she was damned if she let anyone die- especially herself. She looked and saw Rafe lying on the floor near the front, "Rafe," she said running up to him and crouching down next to him.  
  
------  
  
Ian checked her pupils for the third time now and watched them dilate, "Why are you not waking up?" he asked an unresponsive Alison. "Is it because Rafe isn't here? You know when he does get here he's going to be upset with us for letting you get in harm's way," he said as he pulled the medallion she wore out from under her shirt and looked at it. "He knew there was something not right about Karissa, but he never knew she was going to go after him and not you," he said as he went to call Lucy and tell her the news.  
  
-------  
  
Elizabeth sat at the table at the Grille waiting on Alison, "What is taking her so long?" she said looking at her watch. She was starting to get worried, it wasn't like her daughter to be this late for anything-even a simple dinner date. She got her cell phone out and dialed Alison's number again-and again there was no response. "Where are you?" she asked out loud.  
  
"Elizabeth," said Chris as he came up behind her.  
  
"Oh, hi," she said getting up and giving him a hug. "So you decided to join me and Alison for dinner? Well, that is if she ever shows up."  
  
"That's why I came to get you-Alison is at the hospital."  
  
"Is everything ok? What happened?"  
  
"I'll explain on the way," he said as she grabbed her purse and left with Chris.  
  
------  
  
The three men sat in the waiting room to find out Alison's results just staring at each other. Nobody had said anything when they came in, and they didn't feel like saying anything yet. Everyone was pointing the blame on someone else, and Rafe's whereabouts were still a mystery. They heard Chris' voice as he walked in with Elizabeth, his arm around her shoulder. It was obvious she had been crying. Jack got up and gave Elizabeth a hug and she sat down.  
  
"I'm going to check on what Ian has to say about Alison," said Chris who walked away.  
  
"Listen, for what it's worth-I'm sorry Elizabeth. This was never supposed to happen. Nobody was supposed to get physically harmed or disappear."  
  
"An apology is not what I need right now. What I need is the truth Caleb. What did you do to my son-in-law?"  
  
Caleb just laughed, "Let me say it again. I did nothing. I never set up any fake call from Jamal for him to go to Alabama. Maybe if Jamal had actually called someone and said where he was for the past two and a half months then we wouldn't think he was still there."  
  
"Don't you dare put any blame on me. Nobody in this town takes care of me but myself. If I want to go drive across the country and not call anyone then that is my business," shouted Jamal as he stood up.  
  
"Both of you stop," said Lucy as she walked up to where they were. "Fighting and pointing blame is not going to get Alison to wake up or tell us where Rafe and Livvie have vanished to. We just need to sit down and think. Livvie and Rafe are both smart-if they have some way of telling us where they are then they will do just that."  
  
-------  
  
"Hey. Are you awake?" said Livvie shaking him lightly. A grin appeared on his face, "Faking it, I see?" she said as the grin got bigger then went away as he moved his head to the side. Standing back up she saw Annette was now entering the back doors, "What did you do to him?"  
  
"Oh, we just had a tussle earlier and then I gave him some very strong pain relievers. But you, my dear are going to finish him off."  
  
"Really?" she said as she felt Rafe's hand grab her foot then let go. She leaned back over him and placed her hand around his throat. She could tell he didn't have the energy to fight her, but even she didn't have the energy to kill him. "I can't do it," she said as she stood up.  
  
"You can never do anything right," commented Annette as she stomped up to the front. She leaned over Rafe's body, and with the energy he still had he pushed Annette against a far wall. Livvie looked back down at Rafe and his eyes opened, "Run," he said groggily, knowing she was the only way to save him now.  
  
-------  
  
"How is the patient?" asked Chris as he walked into the holding area where Ian was still working.  
  
"She's asleep Chris and she won't wake up. That's the best way I can describe it. There is nothing textbook about this case."  
  
"Is there anything ever textbook about this town?" he laughed. "So I guess this will just be a wait and see thing then, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, but how long are we going to have to wait? I'm going to get her a room, but this floor is full, we'll have to put her on the fifth floor."  
  
"Ok, well let's go talk to everyone out there. They look like they are about to kill each other."  
  
"What's new," he said finally laughing for once in the past few hours.  
  
-------  
  
"Well, Alison has brain activity, and there seems to be no damage to the baby. It's just like she's asleep and dreaming," said Ian as he walked up with Chris to the rest of their friends.  
  
"Can I see my little girl?" asked Elizabeth through tears.  
  
"Yeah, come on-we'll go see her together," said Lucy as she gave the men an evil glare as Chris took the two ladies to Alison's room.  
  
"At least the baby is doing fine," said Caleb as he took a look into his empty styrofoam cup. His cell phone rang and he answered it. "Caleb here," he said with a sigh.  
  
"Caleb! We need your help, or Rafe does," said a frantic Livvie.  
  
"Sweetheart, where are you?" he said looking at Jack and nodding that it was Livvie.  
  
"I'm at a payphone by the highway. It's near mile marker fourteen. It's Rafe that's in trouble. Somehow, someway the monastery is back-Annette has him drugged in there."  
  
"First calm down," he said smiling that he knew she was alright. "Second, Jack is here with me, and he's going to get you. I'll go deal with Annette."  
  
"Be careful," she sighed.  
  
"I will, don't worry about me. I'll see you when I get back, ok?"  
  
"Alright, my love," she said hanging up the phone.  
  
"I'm going to save Rafe," he said getting up. "Olivia is on the highway near mile marker 14. Can you get her Jack?"  
  
"Yeah, but where is Rafe?"  
  
He just shook his head, "The monastery. Don't ask me how, or why-but that's where he is."  
  
"I'm going with you," spoke Ian who had be quiet for most of the time.  
  
"Me too," said Jamal now standing up.  
  
-------  
  
"Chris how long will she be like this?" asked Elizabeth as they finally wheeled Alison into her room.  
  
Chris took a sigh, he hated to be professional with friends. The fact that they were friends made it harder to tell the truth, "We don't know. It could be just a few more hours or it could be days."  
  
"So much for a Merry Christmas," sighed Lucy as she went and fixed Alison's hair. Like Ian she saw the medallion on the chain and took it in her hands, "Rafe," she said as her eyes filled with tears. "They are never going to get their happily ever after. Of all the couples in the world these two deserve it the most. And instead of enjoying their first Christmas together as a family she's here sleeping and we have no idea where he is. What is it that the Universe is trying to tell us? I know it wants them together, he wouldn't have been able to come back if they weren't," said an upset Lucy.  
  
"What do you mean he got to come back?" asked Elizabeth.  
  
"It's too long to explain, he was supposed to leave Port Charles and go somewhere else-to fight more Vampires, and instead they let him come back here," she lied. "I just want to them to have happily ever after, that's all."  
  
"Maybe that's just what she's dreaming about, Lucy. Maybe she's dreaming about happily ever after," said Elizabeth as she came next to her as the two watched Alison continue to sleep. 


	53. Chapter 53 Alison's Christmas Dream

A/N: This is probably my favorite fantasy episode I've written. It is my Christmas episode-where we take a step back from normal PC and, well I'm not telling you anything else.  
  
As I cannot for the life of me figure out how to make stuff show up in italics on here, I have put the thoughts that Alison has in parenthesis. So here you go-my Christmas chapter, entitled: 'Alison's Dream'. Enjoy- Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Caleb should of never come to Port Charles" That's all Alison could hear now-as if her body was pulled into some other dimension. She opened her eyes and looked around-she was at the Barrington Mansion. "Nana," she heard herself call out, but as she moved towards her, she almost felt as if she was a separate entity in her own body. Like something else was doing all the controlling, while she watched through her own eyes.  
  
Her grandmother entered the room, along with some other people. ("What am I doing here?") she wondered. She watched as she said hello to her Nana and her friends, and then left. "I'll have to find Jack-he'll know what's going on." When she got to the Elixir she saw it was still the Recovery Room. Walking in she looked around and saw Karen sitting at a table. She went over and sat with her, maybe she could help somehow. Karen asked if she had gone to see Livvie recently. Then, again as she lost control of her speaking, she said no but she was planning on going soon. She then excused herself.  
  
("Where would Livvie be? Why isn't the Elixir still here?") she thought again. (Jamal.) She felt into her pocket and pulled out the old apartment key to their place. She ran over and put in the key, but it didn't fit. This day was getting stranger and stranger. She heard her name being called, and turned around to see Lucy standing there. "I'm going to see Livvie, do you want to come?" she heard her say. She just nodded, maybe Livvie could explain it all to her.  
  
("What are we doing at Ferncliff?") As they walked the sterile white hall it hit her-Caleb never existed. Which meant what? (Jack died, Alison.) They walked into the room, and she walked over to Livvie's bed. "Livvie," she heard herself say softly, "Can you hear me?" but all she got in response was the word Jack. (Jack wasn't a vampire when the motorcycle crash happened, so the crash killed him instantly.) Livvie must have gone into shock after his death-and this time he didn't come back to life.  
  
When they returned to Port Charles she decided to see one last thing-to give her proof that Caleb never existed. She walked to the barn door, hesitating. (You have to do this Alison, there's no other choice.) Opening the door she walked over to where the names should have been carved, but it was still a solid piece of wood-never touched by Rafe's knife, or sanded down by Livvie.  
  
"Let me out!" she yelled, and then she was in a white room, sitting at a table with Karen and Eve. "What was that?" she said as she looked at both of them.  
  
"That was life without Caleb ever touching our town," said Eve as she grabbed her hand.  
  
"Then where were you? You shouldn't have died."  
  
"You're right, I didn't die. But, I was planning on leaving town-and Michael stopped me. So without Caleb, and without Michael I went on my own- and left Port Charles. I never looked back, never thought what I might be giving up," she said grabbing Karen's hand now.  
  
"So I lost my three best friends, and both Karen and Chris lost you. Poor Chris-he lost his brother also," she said, realizing that Caleb's presence seemed to save some lives and heartbreak after all.  
  
"Yes, and after Jack died and I left he was never the same. He tried to throw himself into research, but it never worked. Lucy and Kevin are also another sad story," said Eve as her head went down.  
  
"But Lucy went to see Livvie. Doesn't that mean they are still together?" she asked as she got a no response out of Karen.  
  
"Livvie's breakdown was too much for their marriage. Lucy keeps going to see her though, hoping one day she will come out of it, and then her and Kevin can have the life they always wanted. And Christina-well she never came back into the picture before Julie died," sighed Eve.  
  
"How sad. Where was Jamal? I tried to find him, but didn't have any luck."  
  
"After Jack died Jamal got back into riding bikes for Zach. He had nothing else to live for, no family that he knew of," said Karen-completing the point that he didn't know about Gabriella being his sister.  
  
"So if he didn't know about Gabriella, then Hope--," she said as tears started to form in her eyes. Hope wouldn't have gotten her operation, she would have probably have died.  
  
"Jamal started to push you away too, afraid you would be hurt in the process, just like Jack. You moved back in with your Grandmother, and just slipped into the old habit of life," said Karen.  
  
"So the only people that were happy would have been you and Frank? What happened to Ian, you never mentioned him?"  
  
"Frank and I were happy, but it probably wouldn't have lasted anytime. Ian went back to Doctors without Borders, said there wasn't anything left for him in this town."  
  
"I wouldn't want my life like that at all. No friends, my only family being my Nana. I love her, don't get me wrong, but I needed all my friends I have made in the past two years-including you two, for the short time you were still there with us. So why am I dreaming this anyways?"  
  
"After Annette pushed you down the stairs, and then Livvie was telling you it would be ok Annette made the comment that it wouldn't be ok unless Caleb never came to Port Charles. It made you start to wonder what could have been different. Your plea for it to stop allowed us to come into your dream. Ed is busy right now with something big, so he won't notice, but we should be getting back."  
  
"Tell Ian and Frank both the same thing though. Tell them to continue to love their sons, and always let them know they are loved by us also," smiled Karen as the three women went in for a hug.  
  
As Alison released from the hug she began to see visions of things that could possibly happen in the future. The first vision she had was the sight of her lying in the hospital bed. This time though she wasn't in a coma-she had just given birth. She watched as Rafe carefully placed a blue blanket bundle in her arms. Then he seemed to walk away for a minute, she couldn't see where he had gone, and then he came back-now holding a pink bundle which he held so carefully, so perfectly as both children slept.  
  
Her next vision was of a little white house. The front door was open, and as she walked up the steps and across the porch she peered in. Inside were boxes and boxes-along with all their friends. She was sitting on the floor next to baby Kate flipping through a photo album, telling their sweetheart all about her family and those that loved her. She could tell Rafe was picking on her about wasting time with a single box while he and the others were putting together the cribs in the other room. Lucy walked out holding the Eddie, and placed him in the carrier next to his sister.  
  
Now she was at the park. Kate and Eddie were under two, and she was pregnant again. Livvie walked up to her with a smile. Alison got up off the bench, and looked at the infant Livvie held in her arms. He had dark brunette hair, and hazel eyes-like his mom.  
  
Her final vision was of her sitting in a pew. All around her were pink roses, and white candles. She saw all her friends sitting behind her. She watched as everyone stood up and turned towards the back-there was her daughter being escorted down the aisle with Rafe. Kate looked so beautiful and resembled her very much so. Alison looked and saw their daughter was wearing Katrina's bracelet with the heart locket. As Rafe and Kate got to the front of the church the vision dimmed, and she fell into a peaceful slumber. 


	54. Chapter 54

A/N: Yes Gracie-the last part was my favorite part also. But now we have to get back to everyone battling a villain named Karnette. Until next time- PCGirl.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
She threw open the car door and jumped in, then throwing her arms around Jack in tears, "Oh Jack."  
  
"Hey, hey. It's going to be ok," he said as he patted her on the back. "Caleb and them are on their way up now. It's all going to be over soon."  
  
"How do you know that? How do you know that nothing horrible is going to happen when they confront her?"  
  
"Ok, onto another subject-how was Rafe when you left? How did you escape anyways?"  
  
"Annette-she wanted me to kill him, he was so weak Jack-I've never seen him like that. Well, I couldn't do it so she came over. He used the strength he had to push her against a wall and told me to run."  
  
"Sounds like you have a soft spot for Rafe now," he laughed as he turned onto another road.  
  
"I wouldn't call it a soft spot-I just think she's not playing fair."  
  
"Playing fair? Come on Livvie-you are the queen of unfair game play. You married the man without him knowing his past with Alison-is that very fair?"  
  
"Did I say I've been an angel? No, I haven't been-but I guess now I understand why you all wanted to kill me for that. Oh my god-I'm just like Annette," she screamed.  
  
"You are nothing like her."  
  
"Where are we going anyways?" asked Livvie as she looked at the scenery outside.  
  
"Home. My house to be exact."  
  
------  
  
"That had to be the stupidest move ever," said Annette when she was finally able to stand up due to Rafe unable to keep her against the wall any longer.  
  
"Yeah, well that's me-King of stupid moves," he laughed, trying to stay conscious just for a bit longer. "So what are you planning on doing next, hmmm?" he said as he turned his head to look at her.  
  
"Well, let me tell you-see, there is a bomb attached to that door back there. If someone were to open it then this whole place and the two of you will go poof," she smiled staring down at him.  
  
"Ahh-very creative of you. But before you plunge that syringe you are holding there into my neck, tell me what happens if Caleb is the one to open that door."  
  
"He won't, trust me," she said as she kneeled down and gave him another shot.  
  
-----  
  
"No, we are not going to your place. We're going to the hospital to wait on Caleb to get there with Rafe. Anyways, I want to talk to Alison-does she know about Rafe?"  
  
"Livvie," he sighed. "Alison won't wake up, her response to light is like she's fine, but she's pretty much in a coma. So we'll just go home and wait for a call."  
  
"No, we're definitely going to the hospital now. You either turn the car around Jack, or at the next red light I'm getting out and walking-I don't care if I freeze to death."  
  
"I can't believe I'm letting you order me around," he said under his breath as he checked for traffic coming the other way and made a u-turn.  
  
-------  
  
"So do we have a plan?" asked Ian as the three got up to the Monastery doors.  
  
"Yeah, I think I do. I'm going to go inside first, you two follow in about 5 minutes ok? If she comes running out-which I doubt she will-but if she does don't go after her, you two are both mortal now and she can kill you much easier than before," said Caleb as he went inside.  
  
"Well, I guess we'll just sit and wait," said Jamal as he turned and saw a fallen tree to go sit on.  
  
"Let me call Lucy and let her know what we're doing," as he dialed the phone. "Hey, it's me. We're here. Anything new on Alison?"  
  
"No," sighed Lucy as she sat out in the hall. "Oh, here come Livvie and Jack. What is the plan right now?"  
  
"The plan is Caleb's already gone in, we're going to go in a few minutes. I just wanted to tell you what we were doing," he said as he heard a sound. He looked at Jamal and then they both turned their heads to see the Monastery blow up. "I've got to go," said a shocked Ian to Lucy before hanging up.  
  
"Ian! No wait-what was that sound? Ian!" screamed Lucy into the phone and then looking at Jack.  
  
-------  
  
Livvie walked in and saw Alison sleeping, "Hey, it's just me. I came by to see how you are doing. Caleb is at the Monastery right now getting Rafe out of danger, I hope," she said as she took a breath. "But you, you need to wake up-this isn't like the last time you were in a coma, this time I want you to wake up and I want you to be with Rafe. You two are about to start a family, you've already got a little bundle on your way," she smiled. "So you just need to wake up, whatever you may be dreaming about in there is nothing compared to the happiness you have out here," she said as she continued to talk to Alison. Then all of a sudden she stopped talking as a feeling of dread came over her that she couldn't shake off, no matter how hard she tried.  
  
-----  
  
They woke up staring at each other, Rafe lying on the side of the room that was all in white, and Caleb on the side that was dark. Looking at his surroundings Rafe jumped up, "No! No, no, no. It's not supposed to end this way. Ed!"  
  
"I don't think he's going to come out just like that," said Caleb as he sat up. "Want to explain to me how I died?"  
  
"Uhm, in case you didn't see-I was unconscious."  
  
"Welcome boys," said Ed as he walked through the door behind Rafe.  
  
"Hello again, Master Caleb," said James as he came up behind Caleb and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"James, I believe they wanted to know what just happened," he said flipping the television screen on. They then watched as Caleb opened the door to the monastery's chapel, and then what seemed like a bomb went off. Caleb was knocked unconscious on the floor, and then as debris was flying, some splintered wood from one of the pews pierced his heart.  
  
"Man, what a way to die," chuckled Rafe.  
  
"Shut up," he said with a glare.  
  
"So, that's it? We're dead? No chance of going back now?" said Rafe as the two looked at each other, and then back at their respective mentor. 


	55. Chapter 55

A/N: Gracie and Nat-I love your reactions. I was surprised at myself for writing it. Have Rafe and Caleb really ended up joining the rest of their vampire and slayer buddies on the other side? What will it take to wake up Alison? Well, including this chapter there are 4 remaining-so we'll find out soon enough. Ya'll are truly the best, and knowing you are enjoying this story brings a smile to my face. Until next time-PCGirl.  
  
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"Mrs. Kanelos, will you please explain why you sent your son to live with a man he barely knows?" asked Kate as she stood in front of Courtney who was on the witness stand.  
  
"I had some personal problems, and needed to have some time to myself. I figured that once everything got straightened out that Frank knew I would come back to get my son."  
  
"What type of personal problems were those?"  
  
"I-I was in a relationship with a man who wanted me to choose him over my son," she said with tears forming in her eyes.  
  
"But you decided to choose your son in the end, correct?"  
  
"Yes because I love Neil more than anything else. We've always been together and I just can't see him living with a man like Frank Scanlon."  
  
"What type of man would he be?" asked Kate as she turned to look at Frank.  
  
"A vampire."  
  
--------  
  
Lucy held the phone in her hand and looked at Jack, "Stupid connection."  
  
"No, there's something more-what did you mean by a noise?"  
  
"It was this loud sound, I'm not sure how to describe it though. The reception at the Monastery is so bad though, it might have just been a gun shot or a car door slam," she said trying to keep herself calm.  
  
"A car door?" he said with the hint of a laugh.  
  
"Yeah, because we all know that Caleb didn't go up there to sabotage everyone else-he went up there for once to help Rafe. Oh who am I kidding- he doesn't have a helpful bone in his body," she said jumping up and beginning to pace. She looked up at Livvie walking over with a blank look on her face, "Hey. Is everything ok? You look kind of out of it."  
  
"I-I feel like I'm missing a part of me all of a sudden. As if half of me is gone, not anywhere around."  
  
"Half of you as in Tess?" asked a confused Lucy.  
  
"No, not that-almost as if Caleb were just killed or badly injured. I-I think I need to go find him," she said as she turned and began to walk away.  
  
"Hold on a second," said Jack as he turned Livvie back around.  
  
-------  
  
"Well, that's part of the reason you two are here, and not inside the gates yet. When you two were sent back you destroyed each other, all the way to losing both your lives-again. So we have to make a decision, either you two don't give up the battle and go through the gates, or you have to sign a pact that you will permanently end the war. If the pact is broken both of you will be killed, and there will be no forth chances, or how ever many times you two have died."  
  
"Let's go, Caleb," said James as he led him towards the gates.  
  
"Wait, who said I'm not willing for a truce."  
  
"Are you saying you are willing to give into this rubbish? Your father will not be pleased," as he shook his head.  
  
"Let him think whatever he wants, I at least want to discuss this idea before I say yes or no to it."  
  
"See James, you are on somewhat of the losing side. Caleb has recently grown a conscious again, mortality will do that to a man."  
  
"Don't tell me how you think I've changed," he yelled as he walked towards Ed before Rafe jumped in his way.  
  
"Fine, Caleb. Then explain why you would be willing to put everything else aside."  
  
------  
  
Kate had to take a second to keep from laughing before continuing on, "Will you please say that again?"  
  
"A vampire-Frank is a vampire and I have proof."  
  
Kate looked back at Frank, who was becoming fidgety, "What type of proof would this be?"  
  
"I saw him drinking blood one day at the Elixir. Of course, I didn't get to actually touch or taste it before his friend, Jack Ramsey, took the cup from my hand."  
  
Kate turned to ask Frank, "Frank, are you a vampire?"  
  
"No," he said with a laugh. He seriously needed to give Chris free martini's at the bar for a year now. "I mean if you want proof then someone find a mirror, because vampires don't have reflections, or wave some garlic in my face and watch me not flinch. I didn't even know they existed."  
  
"Thank you, Frank," said Kate who enjoyed his little joke there. "So you believe he's a vampire still?" she asked Courtney.  
  
"I guess I could have been wrong. I just want my son back, that's all."  
  
-------  
  
"Let go Jack," she said pulling her arm out of his grasp. "I just want to go see if he needs help."  
  
"He doesn't need help, he's got plenty with Ian and Jamal."  
  
"Yeah, and Ian will help Rafe out with his injuries or whatever it is that crazy woman gave him. So whatever that noise might have been is nothing to worry about, right? Right," said Lucy as she sat back down.  
  
"Noise? What type of noise?"  
  
"I was on the phone with Ian-Caleb had gone inside by himself. Ian and Jamal were going in after him in a few minutes. I heard a noise, and then Ian hung up."  
  
"And you aren't worried?" she said as she began to get tense.  
  
"Yes I'm worried. I mean I may have just lost my cousin," said Lucy as the tears began to fall. "This has got to be the worst Christmas ever."  
  
"What? Are you suggesting that noise you heard was the Monastery exploding?"  
  
---------  
  
"Olivia. It's all for Olivia. You should understand that Rafe. Alison's lying in that hospital bed right now and you will do anything for her."  
  
"What?" he said as Caleb realized that Rafe had no idea what had happened while he was being held against his will in the monastery.  
  
"Rafe, we'll explain that in a bit. Let's see what else Caleb here has to say."  
  
"I think Rafe and I agree on one thing, and that is love. The love of a woman, not just any woman, but the right one, is stronger than anything else. So here we stand with a choice-either we walk through those gates and never lay an eye on each other for eternity, or we can sign the pact and let love win. What do you say, Rafe?"  
  
"Well, doesn't love always triumph?" he said with a grin.  
  
------  
  
"Do you want your son to have a good education, Courtney?"  
  
"Yes, I do. That's why we went to Europe, because they have better schools than here."  
  
"If you wanted him to have such a good education, then why has he been through four different schools in the past three years?"  
  
"I've been having trouble finding work, but now I think I've got a steady job and not have to worry about relocating again."  
  
"That's all I need to ask, Courtney," she said as Courtney got off the stand. "So Judge Ellsworth, we've determined this woman is willing enough to make up accusations about other people to try and get her son back. You've also talked to Neil, who wishes to live with Frank for the time being. I believe with his age his decision should be the final one, but as this is a courtroom yours is the final decision. I do hope you see what I have seen and that he deserves to stay with his father in Port Charles."  
  
-----  
  
"I don't know-it's just that anything is possible now."  
  
"Well, if they are gone then that's fine with me," said Jack as he plopped down on a chair.  
  
"Excuse me?" yelled both women at him.  
  
"Jack Ramsey, are you honestly saying our town would be better if both were never to come here?"  
  
"Yes, yes I am Livvie. I mean just look at everything both those men have put this town through. Nothing good has ever come out of them being here."  
  
"Jack, don't take this the wrong way," said Lucy in a sweet voice, "But maybe you should leave. Livvie and I can take care of ourselves."  
  
"Fine, I'm out of here," he said getting up and walking off.  
  
Livvie started smiling as she thought of something, "Hey Jack," she said turning around and seeing him at the elevator.  
  
"What?" he snapped as he got on the elevator.  
  
Just as the doors were closing she was able to get out, "If Caleb never came to this town then you'd be dead, my dear," she said with a smile on her face and then looking at Lucy who was grinning also now.  
  
-------  
  
"Will you just hurry up and sign the stupid thing?" said Caleb as they sat at a table.  
  
"Last time I signed on of these things I ended up marrying your Olivia. Just want to make sure that doesn't happen again," he said as he continued to read on. "Alright, no hidden agenda this time, I see," he said looking at James, and then signing the agreement before passing it on to Caleb.  
  
"Guess I better read it too, never can trust you entirely," he said looking over it. "I feel like I'm signing my life away here," he said as he signed his name. "Is that it?"  
  
"That's all," said Ed as he took the paper from Caleb. "Of course, seeing you two shake hands wouldn't be a bad thing."  
  
So the two men stood up and looked at each other, the end of the battle had come and in the end love won over everything else. 


	56. Chapter 56

A/N: My goal has been achieved-Gracie likes Livvie. And yes Nat-3 chapters til the next arc. Until next time-ya'll are the best. PCGirl  
  
~~~~~~~~  
  
"Rafe! Caleb!" called Ian as he sifted through the rubble. He had been standing outside with Jamal when the place blew up. He heard a coughing sound as he got towards where the chapel used to be, following the cough he saw Caleb lying there, a piece of wood seeming to be millimeters from his heart, "Too bad it didn't hit you in the right place," he said as he pulled it out, and had Caleb hold some cloth against his skin.  
  
"Find Rafe," said Caleb weakly. "I'm fine," he said as Jamal came over to help him up and out of the destroyed building.  
  
Ian continued to walk to the front of the building looking for any sign of Rafe. He saw an arm sticking out from under a beam, and began to try and move it, "Rafe, can you hear me?" he said trying to get him to help. As he grabbed his wrist for a pulse he felt a very faint one, "Jamal! I need your help," he called out as Jamal came back. Alright, we're going to lift on three, ok? One-two-three," he said as the two tried to push it somewhat out of the way. "There, that is worth a start."  
  
"Here, let me help," said Caleb who had come back in. They again pushed the beam the rest of the way off, "Hey, wake up," he said slapping Rafe in the face.  
  
"What are you doing? He's barely alive."  
  
"He'll live, trust me," he said as they began to try and get Rafe safely out of the building before it finished collapsing. As they carried Rafe out Caleb looked around for a sign of Annette, but figured it could wait-he wanted to get back to Olivia now.  
  
-------  
  
"I can't believe you really are going to steal my son away," hollered Courtney in Frank's face as they stood outside the court room.  
  
"Courtney, I'm not stealing him away, he has made it clear he wants to live with me. And when the day comes that he wants to live with you again I'll let him-he's getting older and can make his own decisions. Of course, you telling them I was a vampire wasn't very good for your reputation. Made you look possibly loony," he laughed at the end.  
  
"You were drinking blood, I know it."  
  
"It wasn't blood."  
  
"Are you two still arguing about that?" asked Jack as he walked up.  
  
"Hey, what are you doing here? I figured you would be with Livvie and Lucy- how is Alison doing?"  
  
"No better than before, and I just burned a few bridges with them so I figured I'd come over for the end of the hearing. Then we can work on the remodeling."  
  
"The judge is ready," said Kate as she walked past them and into the courtroom. Courtney and Frank followed, while Jack went and took a seat on an outside bench.  
  
-------  
  
Chris walked into the apartment and was surprised to see Elizabeth sitting on the couch reading a magazine, "Hi. I was planning on changing out of my work clothes and going back to the hospital to be with you. Give me a few minutes and we'll go together."  
  
"No, don't-I don't feel like going back today," she said, barely making eye contact with him.  
  
"Why? Did something happen?"  
  
"No, nothing happened and that's just it. Chris, I can't stay there day after day and not be able to do anything to help my little girl. I just got her back in my life, and this happens," she said as she began to tear up.  
  
"Hey, come here," he said as he sat down next to her and pulled her close. "It's going to be alright, everything's going to be fine soon."  
  
--------  
  
"Caleb," said Livvie as he walked in through the doors, and she rushed over to him. "Are you ok? What happened?"  
  
"I'm fine," he said as Ian and Jamal came in behind him still carrying Rafe. "He'll be ok. How is Alison doing?"  
  
"She's getting worse, they say the brain activity she had is slowing down, and it's not a good sign. You need to get checked out," she said noticing the amount of blood on his shirt.  
  
"Alright, but first I want to talk to Alison. I've got something to tell you both, and maybe it'll get her to wake up," he said as they went to her room.  
  
"Hey," he said walking up and sitting down next to her. Livvie walked over and sat on the other side. "I know you can hear me, and I want you to listen to me good. You have got to fight and survive. Tonight, Rafe and I both died," he said as he looked at Livvie who had a shocked look on her face. "We were given a choice of either love or hate. If we chose hate we were dead-end of story. But we realized something, that with the love of a woman," he said looking up and smiling at Olivia, "nothing else matters. So you've got to pull through, because if you don't then we might as well have not even signed that stupid thing."  
  
------  
  
"This custody hearing was a very difficult one," said Judge Ellsworth as he spoke to Courtney and Frank. "We've got two parents that both seem to care for a child, but in different ways-and seem to have a different perspective on what is right for the boy. Of course-he's not a boy, but in the beginning stages of a young man. When I spoke with him he told me that he wants you to both be happy, and also told me how he enjoys living with his father. What caught me off guard about that was the fact that he has barely lived with you, Mr. Scanlon, but has a bond. I am going to go with his request though, and offer custody to you.  
  
"And to you Mrs. Kanelos-just because your son does not want to live with you right now does not mean he doesn't love you. Do not hold a grudge against him for doing this, he needs to make his own choices and learn from those also," he said as he stood up and left.  
  
"Well, you got your way," said Courtney as she walked over to Frank.  
  
"I didn't get my way Courtney-all I've been given is the chance to be a father to my son," said Frank as he walked on past her and went to meet Jack outside.  
  
-------  
  
"Are you feeling better now?" asked Chris as he walked back into the living room from changing clothes.  
  
"Yeah, I am. I guess I just hate feeling helpless, especially when it concerns a child."  
  
"I know the feeling. Did you know I helped Julie give birth to Christina?" he said, slightly proud.  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah, and then I had to watch Lucy raise her for a little while-I couldn't say anything," he said as the phone went off. "Hello?"  
  
"Ramsey, its Ian-we're at the hospital with Rafe and Caleb."  
  
"Do you need me there?" he asked as Elizabeth tried to figure out who it was.  
  
"You can come if you want. Rafe is pretty banged up, but we've got it under control."  
  
"We'll be there in a few," he said as he hung up the phone. "Rafe is at the hospital, he's banged up, but should pull through," he said as she went to get her coat and head on over to the hospital. 


	57. Chapter 57 New Years Eve

A/N: Nat-yeah, Caleb can still have an attitude if he really did just die. As for Rafe and Alison-have faith my dears (and a little luck too-LOL) Hope you enjoy this chapter, only one more to go. Until the end-PCGirl.  
  
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"Mmmm," he said as he slowly began to wake up. Both his arms hurt, and he had a headache too. "Turn off the light, Alison," he said as he tried to roll over and the pain in his back soared. Then he opened his eyes and saw Lucy and Livvie sitting in his room. "Where is Alison?" asked Rafe, trying to get up and ignore the pain.  
  
"She's in another room," said Lucy as she got up and walked over to the bed and tried to calm him down. "You need to rest. We'll move you into one room later, cousin."  
  
"Don't tell me to rest Luce. And I don't want to wait and see her," he yelled at her while Livvie just sat there.  
  
"Well," said Lucy as she turned at looked at the other person in the room.  
  
--------  
  
Caleb finished walking the trek up to the ruins. Why Michael had to have this place created so far from a local road was beyond him. He took a look at the outside structure, remembering certain memories that were connected to it. He sighed and went inside, checking for anything that may fall on him and knock him out-nobody knew he'd come back here tonight, Olivia thought he was being checked out for any injuries. He walked into the sanctuary and saw her sitting on the alter steps with her head down, "Annette," he spoke softly.  
  
"I knew you would come back," she said as she ran up and gave him a hug. He hugged back, letting her believe he didn't know what she had done.  
  
"What happened here?"  
  
"Oh this? Nothing, it doesn't matter anymore. What matters is we can be together."  
  
"How do you think that?"  
  
"You came here, doesn't that mean you want me?"  
  
"No, I came here for another reason," he said, his voice getting stern. "You deceived me dear Annette."  
  
------  
  
"So we're all set then?" asked Jack as he shut his sketch book and walked to the other side of the bar to where Frank was sitting.  
  
"Yeah, I guess that's it. I better get going though-I've got a son to spend the night with," he said with a smile. "My son-he's living with me. This is what I wanted, so why am I so nervous?"  
  
"Because it's a new responsibility."  
  
"What are you doing for tonight? You can come hang out with us if you want."  
  
"Me? Oh no, I've got some other stuff to do."  
  
"I didn't realize you were seeing anyone," grinned Frank as they locked up the building and started heading to the cars.  
  
"No, not seeing anyone-just got some other stuff to do. See you on Monday though," he said as Frank got in his car.  
  
"See ya," he said driving off to pick up Neil from Mary and Victor's.  
  
--------  
  
"I can't believe I'm doing this," said Livvie as she pushed the wheelchair with a blanket-covered Rafe sitting in it.  
  
"Yeah, well I wish we could see the look on Ian's face when he realizes it's Lucy and five blankets in that bed right now and not me," he said with a slight laugh.  
  
"She'll do anything for you two. Alright, here we are," she sad backing him into the room. "Alison, I brought you a visitor," she said as she turned around to Rafe could see her.  
  
"She looks so peaceful," he said as he tried to ignore the pain he felt right now throughout his body and stand up.  
  
"I'll be outside," she said, letting him talk to her.  
  
"Hey Angel. I'm here, finally. Listen, I just want you to know I'm going to be here everyday until you wake up. And when you wake up we'll have the biggest celebration for everything that's going on. We'll also have a belated Christmas-don't worry about me, I'm going to be ok. You just need to wake up," he said looking over to the window where Livvie was motioning that they needed to go. "I'll be back later," he said giving her a kiss on the lips then sitting back in the wheelchair.  
  
As Livvie started to push Rafe out they softly heard Rafe's name being said. Turning around Alison's eyes began to open, and she gave a very weak smile. "Maybe all she needed was a kiss from her prince," said Livvie who turned him back around, and decided to go get Lucy and Ian.  
  
------  
  
"How? How did I do such a thing?"  
  
"That's what I want to know-I trusted you enough to go find the real Karissa and have her come here. Nowhere in my orders to you did I say for you to imitate her, kill anyone, or push anyone-especially a pregnant woman- down a flight of stairs. But you decided to do something different than what I requested-you betrayed me and you know what I do to those who betray me," he said as he walked towards her and she backed up.  
  
"Let me explain. Caleb nothing good has come from you being here so I just thought--."  
  
"You thought wrong. I have my Olivia, and that is the best possible thing that could have happened," he said as he disappeared from her vision.  
  
"No, don't leave me."  
  
"I wouldn't think of it sweetheart," he said as he then reappeared behind her. He brought an arm around her neck, and whispered in her ear, "You don't betray me and get away with it," before snapping her neck.  
  
-------  
  
Jack was unlocking the house door when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to see Jamal, "Hey man," he said as he walked in, leaving the door open for Jamal to close behind him.  
  
"Hey, I just wanted to see what you were up to for tonight," he said with a smile on his face.  
  
"Nothing much. I was planning on spending it alone, but if you want to join me that's fine," Jack said as he went into the kitchen.  
  
"Actually, I need to call Imani. We need to discuss what we want to do now that everything is returning to normal."  
  
"How is it normal again Jamal? Just because you don't have psycho guy chasing you, and Frank is raising Neil it's not normal. Alison is still in a coma."  
  
"They haven't called you yet?" asked Jamal.  
  
"Well, I haven't checked my machine," he said as he went over and hit the play button.  
  
"Jack. Hi. It's Lucy, listen I just wanted to let you know that Alison woke up a bit ago. If you want to come visit then you are welcome to it, she's still in the same room-Rafe will be moved in there too later on. Happy New Year!"  
  
"Oh, well I guess that is a good thing," he said taking a seat on the couch, a beer in his hand.  
  
"A good thing? Man-I don't know when you became such a Grinch, but it's definitely a great thing. Have a happy new year," said Jamal as he left.  
  
"How can I be happy if I don't have anyone?" sighed Jack as he went to find something to eat.  
  
-------  
  
(Hear 'Auld Lang Syne' playing softly in the background as the camera focuses on a hospital wall clock. The time is 11:55)  
  
First we see Ian and Chris wheeling Rafe into Alison's room on a bed and pulling it next to hers. Rafe is sleeping, but Alison is awake in her bed, Lucy and Elizabeth are standing next to her side. Elizabeth and Lucy give Alison a kiss, and then leave with the guys. Alison rolls on her side and watches Rafe peacefully sleep--reading her lips we see her say 'Happy New Year'.  
  
Next we see Livvie sitting on the couch, two glasses of champagne poured in front of her. The door opens and in walks Caleb. She picks up the glasses and goes to hand him one. They clink glasses, and kiss as he pulls her closer to him.  
  
The next shot is Jamal lying on his bed, talking on the phone to Imani. Then we see Frank and Neil sitting on the couch watching the ball drop in Times Square. Now we see Jack in his house alone, working on papers.  
  
We go to the doctor's on call room-where Ian and Chris are getting their coats on. Lucy points to the clock, saying it's 2004. The two couples then kiss, and we hear Lucy say "Hopefully 2004 will be a better year for Port Charles." 


End file.
